Mission: Bravo Echo Tango Romeo Alpha Yankee Echo Delta
by WildAngelSpirit
Summary: The members of the Shield are elite assassins for the government. When their latest assignment is questionable, they must decide what to do. Several of the WWE featured in this story. Alternate Universe Story.
1. Mission Assigned

_**Disclaimer- **__I own no part of the WWE or its employees. I am not making any money off of this story; it is for entertainment purposes only. I own all original characters in this story. Also the 'DXS' is based on an organization from 'MacGyver' and while no characters from that show are in this story, I wanted to give due credit to the show for the DXS._

_**Author's Note-**__ The characters in this story will be referred to by their real names and character names. I want to stress that this is a fictional story and is not meant to influence anyone's opinions or express my own. The senator in this story is based on a real senator but I have changed the name. The DXS organization in this story is loosely based on the organization in the TV series 'MacGyver' but I have changed aspects of it from the series. With all that being said, I hope you enjoy reading. _

(October 10th)

Roman drove quietly along the highway outside Quantico, VA towards the DXS headquarters. The SUV was quiet as Seth sat in the passenger seat checking the news on his phone while Dean sat in the backseat watching the scenery pass by. Each of them lost in their own thoughts. They had received a call from their supervisor, AJ Lee that morning meaning only one thing…..they were being assigned another assassination mission.

Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose worked as an assassin team for a highly secret branch of the Department of External Services, or DXS. They had been teamed together for a few years now, working in the Virginia/Washington DC area. Many of their superiors had said they were the best assassin team in the DXS. Their department of the DXS specialized in taking out threats to the government or nation before they could cause harm; eliminate the problem before they caused a problem. If asked the government would deny such a unit existed in the DXS. The DXS was more widely known for its intelligence gathering, peace keeping and rescue divisions.

Roman pulled the SUV up to the gate leading to DXS headquarters and showed his ID. The guard waved them on and opened the gate for them. Roman pulled into the parking garage and shut off the engine.

"Ready gentlemen, this is going to be the start of a long few days." Roman said.

"It's what we do." Dean shrugged.

"Just remember, whoever the target is, they are not an innocent person." Roman climbed out of the SUV.

The three of them made their way inside the building and took the elevator to the 10th floor where AJ's office was located.

"Come in gentlemen, glad you made it." AJ smiled at them. "Take a seat."

"You got an assignment for us?" Seth asked as they sat down across from AJ.

"I do. Intel and informants have unveiled a serious threat. A young woman out of West Virginia, now living and working in Quantico. Informant says she would like to organize a terrorist organization to overthrow the US government, claims the government can no longer be trusted and is harming its citizens. Feelings apparently stem from an incident in her hometown. She is stockpiling weapons and believed to be planning an attack on Senator Mantin from West Virginia." AJ said.

"Who is she?" Dean asked.

"Her name is Rori Sue Collins. She is a pharmacist at Express Pharmacy inside the Quantico city limits. Through her employment she has a lot of contact with military personnel and we fear she may begin recruiting disgruntled soldiers to assist her. Right now she is a nobody, be sure she stays that way. We do not want a dead senator on our hands." AJ said.

"You got a file on this woman?" Roman asked.

AJ handed Roman a folder. "Keep me updated on your progress. One of my informants told me Collins is out of town right now attending a funeral. That gives you a few days to develop a plan."

"What caused her to distrust the government?" Seth asked.

"She is an American citizen, American born in West Virginia. The town she grew up in endured a horrendous flood in 1972 causing many in the area to distrust the government. It's all in the folder." AJ said. "Our big concern is she is planning an attack on Senator Mantin. He is the former West Virginia governor."

"We'll be in contact." Roman said.

The three gentlemen stood up and walked out of AJ's office. They made their way out of the building and into the parking garage. Roman handed the folder to Seth as he started the SUV and pulled out of the parking garage.

"File is pretty vague." Seth said. "We have her usual vital statistics and a few reports that are from informants."

"What does it say?" Dean asked.

"Reports here of her purchasing illegal firearms and explosives. Apparently she has been researching security at the Capitol." Seth said. "She must be planning to attack Senator Mantin."

"I'll run a few checks on her when we get home, see what else I can find. If she is out of town we got a few days." Roman said.

"Says here her father was in the Army…served during the Cuban Missile Crisis…..wonder if he started these ideas in her head?" Seth said.

"What about the incident that started her distrusting the government?" Dean asked.

"According to the limited information here…Buffalo Creek Flood…whatever that is." Seth said.

"Doesn't give us much to go on." Dean said.

"Sometimes Intel is limited….important thing is, we take her out before she hurts innocent people." Roman said. "And if she is going after a senator, we don't have time to lose."

"We got an address here for her home and place of employment." Seth said.

October 11th

Roman rubbed his eyes as he stared at the computer screen. He had spent the past two hours researching their target, Rori Collins. He leaned back in his chair and looked around his home office deciding he needed a break. He stood up, stretching his arms over his head before making his way downstairs. The three men shared a huge home that was pretty secluded; the DXS wanting to keep their best team together and happy.

Roman walked onto the back deck to find Dean smoking. He looked into the yard and saw Seth swimming laps in the pool despite the chill in the air. Roman sat down in a lounge chair beside Dean.

"What'd you find?" Dean asked.

"I researched the Buffalo Creek thing. Apparently in 1972, some coal mining dam….used for waste water broke and wiped out 16 coal mining towns….killed over 100 people….apparently following the disaster a lot of people in the area became distrustful of the government, claiming that government inspectors had not taken proper precautions with the dam and that the government stole their land following the flood." Roman said.

"Well now we know why Collins doesn't trust the government. Look what she was raised around." Dean blew smoke in the air.

"There is plenty of information out there on how a lot of people from Logan County, West Virginia felt the government screwed them over…there was even a documentary about it made in the 1980's." Roman said.

"Like I said, she has probably been hearing this anti-government shit since she was born." Dean said.

"But it doesn't make sense…Collins wasn't born until years after the flood and rebuilding." Roman said.

"Was her family in the area during the flood? Was she raised her whole life in that area?" Dean asked. Roman nodded. "There you go; her head was probably filled with anti-government shit since the day she was born."

"I just wish I could find more on Collins herself. She has no police record, not even a speeding ticket." Roman said.

"We need to get her routine down so we can decide the best way to take her out. Maybe we will find something of use when we search her house." Dean said.

"You're probably right. Whatever she is up to, it is bound to be in her home." Roman said.

_**Please Review, author's love feedback! **_


	2. Investigation

October 12th 0500 hours

"You sure Collins is still away at a funeral?" Seth asked Roman as they sat in the SUV across the street from Rori Collins' house.

"Yes, I read the obituary online myself…Jay Sparks, her uncle died earlier this week. Funeral is being held in some nowhere town called Omar, West Virginia….Logan County. Our target was mentioned in the obituary as she is his only niece." Roman said.

"Then let's get in there and see what we can find." Dean said. "Fuck, I need a cigarette."

The three of them climbed out of the SUV making sure no was on the street to see them. They hurried across the street and up the driveway of the house they wanted to search. They slipped into the back yard, seeing the house had a back door.

"Seth, pick the lock." Roman instructed.

While Seth worked on unlocking the back door, Dean glanced around the back porch of the house, trying to get a feel for what their target was like. He saw the back porch was decorated for Halloween just as the front porch had been with pumpkins and cornstalks decorating the railing. He noticed the backyard was well kept. In the corner of the porch he noticed a large food dish full of dog food and a water bowl.

"Easy Seth…she may have a dog around here." Dean warned.

Seth knocked on the door and listened for barking but heard nothing. He opened the door and the three of them stepped inside the house. They found themselves standing in an immaculate kitchen. They looked around seeing several cookbooks on a shelf over the microwave. Roman began opening drawers and cabinets as Dean wandered into the living room.

Dean looked over at the mantle seeing a folded flag in a preservation case. Looking closer he saw a picture of a man in full military uniform, his MP patch clearly visible. Next to that picture was a framed obituary for a William Collins. As Dean read the obit he realized William was the target's father and the flag was his, having received full military honors at his funeral 7 years earlier.

"Nothing of interest in the kitchen, but this woman must love to cook. She has every kitchen gadget imaginable." Roman walked in.

"Her father was highly decorated in the military, served in the military police. She seems very proud of him and his service." Dean said.

"Seth is going through her files and mail. She has to have those illegal guns around here somewhere." Roman said.

Roman walked over to a small bookshelf and began looking through the books and magazines there. Dean wandered over to the couch and began looking at the pictures displayed around the room. He saw a picture of a redhead girl with blue eyes, high cheekbones and a big smile wearing a pink dress and holding a bouquet, apparently in a wedding as she was standing next to a bride.

"Is this her?" Dean asked. "That driver's license photo in her file did her no justice."

Roman walked over to see what he was looking at. "Yeah, that's her…and who looks good in a DMV photo?"

"Wow, she really looks like her father." Dean said.

"Well for someone who hates the government her reading selection doesn't show it. She has a few Stephen King novels, a few classics, some true crime books and of course pharmacy books. Magazines just as ordinary…sports, healthy living…the usual." Roman said.

Dean saw another picture of the target, this time she was standing by a Christmas tree with several other people. She was smiling and looked so happy. Next to that picture was one of her and her father at Niagara Falls.

"She looks so happy." Dean whispered.

"She's dangerous." Roman said, looking through the end tables.

"Find anything?" Dean asked.

"Nothing." Roman sighed.

Dean walked over to a cabinet near the TV and opened it. Inside he found hundreds of movies.

"Damn, if she wasn't dangerous she would be Seth's dream woman. Look at all these movies." Dean said.

"Any of them suspicious?" Roman asked

Dean looked through the movies, finding that more than a hundred of them were horror movies and a lot of others were action movies.

"She isn't into chick flicks for sure. She has over a hundred horror movies and a lot of action movies…Stallone, Van Damme, and Willis." Dean said. "Nothing with any anti-government rhetoric."

"I'm in love." Seth appeared, staring at the open cabinet of movies.

"Easy Mr. Netflix, what did you find?" Roman asked.

"Nothing, not a fucking thing. No guns, no explosives, no receipts where she purchased anything or would be storing them. And no leaflets or anything with any anti-government rhetoric. Only weapon I found was a can of mace by her bed and a couple large hunting knives in her dresser." Seth said. "Found nothing relating to the Capitol or Senator Mantin."

"You go through everything?" Roman asked.

"Searched her bedroom and bathroom and spare bedroom top to bottom…nothing. She must have her tracks covered really well." Seth sighed.

"Doesn't make sense….at home is where these people always let down their guard, we should find something, anything." Dean frowned.

"I am telling you, she has covered her tracks. I couldn't find anything. But I found her laptop, I am gonna hack into it next." Seth said.

"Something isn't right." Dean said.

"What do you mean?" Roman asked.

"When we look into a target…I always get a feel for the person. But this target….something isn't adding up." Dean said.

"What feel did you get from going through her stuff?" Roman asked Seth.

"I would say in her day to day life she is down to earth. She doesn't have many fancy clothes, mostly jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, sneakers and more flip-flops than you'll find at the beach. Her work clothes are professional and pressed; I would say she is very professional at her job. I would say right now, no one suspects she is a threat." Seth said.

"Go work on the laptop." Roman said.

"What are you thinking?" Dean asked as Seth went to hack into her laptop.

"I am not sure. This is the first time we have investigated a target and not found proof of their activities." Roman said.

"Do you think there is a chance the informants were wrong and we got a target that is innocent?" Dean asked.

"No, I think this could be the most deceiving target we ever faced." Roman said.

Roman found a storage closet in the hallway and began searching it while Dean looked for anything he could in the small dining room area. He saw a picture hanging on the wall and walked over to look closer, it was a picture of their target holding a black cat. Under the picture was an engraved plate reading 'Rori and Church, 2010'.

"That closet had nothing in it but some old photo albums, some Christmas decorations and a few knick knacks. Nothing out of the ordinary." Roman said. "This is insane."

Seth walked in, a frown on his face.

"What did the laptop show?" Roman asked.

"Nothing on there about anything out of the ordinary. No web searches for anything subversive, no saved documents of interest, nothing. Looks like the only use of that laptop is for checking the news, paying her bills, boring, boring, boring." Seth said. "She hasn't been doing anything on that laptop related to the Capitol or the senator."

"Something doesn't make sense, if she is organizing some anti-government group there should be some proof of it somewhere! And if she is planning to harm a senator she would have to have a plan." Dean said.

"Doesn't matter, if DXS Intel says she is a threat that is enough for me. Seth, did you get her work schedule?" Roman asked.

"Yeah." Seth said.

"Do you realize this is our first assignment where we haven't found evidence to corroborate what informants and Intel has reported?" Dean frowned.

"We still have a job to do. If we can take her out before she recruits anyone else to her way of thinking, all the better. Bottom line, we have a senator to protect and who knows how many people may get hurt if she tried to attack him in public." Roman said.

Seth walked over to Dean and looked at the picture of the target with the cat. Seth gave a small chuckle.

"She named her cat after a movie cat." Seth chuckled. "If she wasn't a threat to society, I would marry her…my kind of girl."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Dean looked at him.

"The cat in the picture…it says his name is Church, apparently she named him after the cat in the movie 'Pet Sematary'." Seth said.

"Come on, we better get going before someone notices we're here." Roman said to them. "When she gets back from West Virginia, we'll drop in on her at work."

_Please review, all feedback is welcome and appreciated. _


	3. Mission Forward

October 15th

"Rori, it is good to have you back."

Rori looked up at the second pharmacist on site and smiled.

"Thank you Nick. And I appreciate that you handled everything so smoothly while I was out." She said.

"I am gonna head out and grab some lunch. Would you like me to bring you anything back?" Nick asked.

"No thanks." She said.

"I'll be back in about an hour." Nick said and headed out the back.

Rori turned back to the prescriptions she had in her hand and began typing on the computer.

In the parking lot, Roman, Dean and Seth filed out of their SUV. They knew that their target had returned from West Virginia and was back to work. Roman had been watching her since she returned and had to admit she had done nothing to even hint she was dangerous. Dean had tried looking further into their target's background but couldn't find anything suspicious. Even Seth was starting to wonder how she had covered her tracks so well.

"When we get in there, split up and watch her. Observe everything." Roman said.

They walked into the front doors of the pharmacy and split up. There were other customers in the store and the three assassins blended in. Roman made his way near the pharmacy counter standing near a rack of magazines. He could see Rori, typing on a computer and talking on the phone. She was dressed nicely with her lab coat covering her street clothes.

Dean made his way to the pain medicine aisle and watched the front. He could see the target working and noticed Seth standing in the personal hygiene aisle.

"Here you go, Mr. Spiro. Now have you ever taken Vicodin before?" Rori brought a bottle of medicine over to a man who was waiting at the counter.

Dean noticed in the next aisle was a young gentlemen with a prosthetic arm taking something off a shelf but dropped it. He heard snickering and looked up to see a couple of teenage boys laughing.

"Alex, take over here." Rori said and handed the medicine in her hand off to one of the pharmacy techs.

Roman turned and watched as Rori walked out from behind the counter and straight past the guy with a prosthetic arm to the two teenagers.

"Excuse me; is there something funny to you?" Rori glared at them.

"We were just…."

"Being rude and disrespectful? Childish and obnoxious? Cold and uncaring? What?" she glared.

"We'll be going." One of the boys finally said.

"You do that. And the next time you want to laugh at a veteran you better think twice." Rori glared as the boys hurried away from her.

Roman raised an eyebrow but continued watching as Rori walked over to the man with the prosthetic arm.

"I'm sorry about them." She said and picked up the bottle of cough syrup he had dropped.

"It's okay. I am still trying to learn to use my new equipment here." He said but blushed.

"You hang in there soldier. You'll get it." She smiled and put a comforting arm around him.

"Thanks for your help." The man smiled at her.

"Any time, is there anything else you need?" she asked.

"No, this is all. Thank you." He continued down the aisle.

Rori looked over the shelves and saw Dean smiling at her. "Can I help you find something?"

Dean realized he needed to act like a regular customer. "I think I pulled a muscle in my arm, probably working out. Where is the Icy Hot?"

Rori walked around the shelves to where Dean was standing. She waved him a little further down the aisle.

"It's right here, but do you mind if I make a suggestion?" she asked.

"No, go ahead." Dean said.

"Icy Hot is the big popular brand, but I would recommend Thera-Gesic. It works better and several of the guys at my gym use it." She smiled.

"Thank you, I will try it." Dean picked up a box of Thera-Gesic.

"Can I help you with anything else?" Rori smiled.

"No, thank you. This is all I needed." Dean said.

Rori nodded and walked back to the pharmacy counter, resuming her work behind the counter. Dean walked to the back of the store. He looked around and saw Roman making his way to the back as well. Seth was already walking towards the door.

"There is no way. No way that woman is a threat to society." Dean said as he climbed in the SUV.

"Why because she smiled at you when she waited on you?" Seth asked.

"Did you not see her put those stupid kids in their place? And the way she helped that vet." Dean said.

"I am starting to think something is wrong too." Roman said.

"What?" Seth looked at him.

Roman started the SUV. "The reports in that file we have on Collins are the most vague I have ever seen. We have researched her, been through her house and still couldn't find a shred of evidence that she is up to anything dangerous."

"If she wasn't dangerous, she wouldn't have been brought to our attention." Seth said.

"I am going to talk to AJ about this assignment and see if she has anything else. After seeing Collins in person, I find it hard to believe she is planning to harm a senator." Roman said.

"I am telling you, something is wrong with this assignment." Dean said.

"I don't know what to think. But we better figure it out soon." Seth said.

October 16th

Roman, Dean and Seth made their way into the DXS headquarters building. They wanted to talk to AJ about their current assignment. Roman hoped to find out something to settle his mind because he knew they would have to take out their target very soon.

AJ looked up at the three of them as they walked into her office. "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

"We have some questions about our current assignment." Roman said.

"What about it? And while you are here, what is taking so long? Informants are telling me she has been back from West Virginia for several days now." AJ frowned.

"The Intel reports seem very vague and we want to be sure the target really is dangerous before she is killed." Roman said.

"What are you talking about? Of course she is dangerous, she wants to kill a senator and who knows what else she may be up to!" AJ said.

"We can't find much on her. She has no criminal record and we can't find anything suspicious on her." Dean said.

"Look, I know you three are the best assassin team we have anywhere and always very thorough but we don't have time to waste, a senator's life is at stake here. I trust the informants and information we have and that should be enough for you." AJ said.

"Do you have any other information you could give us on her?" Roman asked.

"You don't need any more information. I gave you everything you need and I expect you to do your assignment. I don't care how you take Collins out, just do it before we have a dead senator on our hands." AJ said.

"You're sure she is a threat?" Roman asked.

"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have assigned you to take her out. Now unless you want to face disciplinary action for insubordination, I expect your assignment completed in two days." AJ said.

"We'll be in touch." Seth said.

The three of them walked out of AJ's office and back down the hall. None of them said a word as they quietly took the elevator to the ground floor. They quietly walked to the parking garage and climbed in the SUV. Roman started it quietly and pulled out of the parking garage. Roman waved at the guard as they left the DXS grounds.

"Fuck!" Dean suddenly yelled from the backseat.

"What?" Seth turned and looked at him.

"We can't kill that woman; I am telling you she is innocent!" Dean gritted out.

"How can you be so sure?" Seth asked.

"You mean besides the fact that we haven't got anything but sketchy information against her? I feel it in my gut. I feel it." Dean said.

"I admit we don't have much to go on…but DXS Intel has never led us wrong before." Seth said.

"We can't kill her! If we kill her and then find out the Intel was wrong, what do we do? Say we're sorry?" Dean yelled.

"Calm down, Dean." Roman said.

"What do you think, Roman?" Seth asked.

"I think we have to trust our Intel and do our jobs." Roman sighed.

"Roman, if we kill an innocent person that isn't doing our jobs! It's murder!" Dean yelled.

"Calm down. Fuck, what is with you?" Seth stared at Dean.

"I just can't stand this." Dean said.

"Dean…..Jon…pull yourself together. You are part of this team and we need to decide how we are going to take Collins out. You need to get your head together and trust the information we have." Roman looked at him in the mirror.

Dean took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

"You gonna be okay?" Seth asked him.

"Yes, I can handle it." Dean said.

That night:

Seth walked into the kitchen and found Roman with his sketchbook drawing what appeared to be an autumn scene. He took a seat at the breakfast bar from Roman.

"Where is Dean?" Seth asked.

"Outside smoking. He has been out there for an hour." Roman said.

"I have never seen him react to an assignment this way." Seth said.

"Dean has never been good with emotions." Roman sighed. "He thinks Collins is innocent."

"Think he will be able to do his job?" Seth asked.

"Yes, he is having his…moody spell now but when it's time he will come through." Roman said.

"You okay?" Seth asked.

"Just the usual emotions, you know how it is." Roman said.

"I know….my brain knows this person is dangerous and will hurt others, but my heart knows it is still a human." Seth said.

Roman frowned. "I keep thinking of Rori Collins' mother."

"Why her mother?" Seth was confused.

"Rori is her only child. I can't imagine what this is going to do to that woman." Roman said.

"Everybody has parents. It's just something we have to deal with." Seth said.

Dean opened the sliding glass door and walked into the kitchen from the patio. He took the empty stool next to Roman.

"Let's get this planned." Dean said.

"You sure?" Seth asked.

"I got a job to do. Let's figure out how to get this target taken out as safely as possible." Dean said.

"Okay, I was thinking we make it look like a random act of violence." Roman said.

"Make it look like a drive by shooting?" Seth asked.

"No, I was thinking more like a hunting accident or kids being stupid. She has those woods behind her house. Simple, easy and no one will question it." Roman said. "Seth, you will do the actual shooting."

"We'll have to catch her outside." Dean said.

"The target should be arriving home around 1700 hours tomorrow. She is working the morning shift and then will go to the gym after work, it is her usual routine." Roman said. "Dean, you and I will work perimeter to be sure no one witnesses anything and that no one innocent gets hurt."

"Make sure I get a clean shot." Seth said.

"Clean shot, if you can't get it we will figure out something else." Roman said.

"Dean, you sure you can do this?" Seth asked.

"I got your back. I have never left you hanging and I never will." Dean said.

"We'll set up around 1500 hours tomorrow." Roman said.

Dean stood up and walked back outside to smoke.

_**A/N-** Reviews please, author's love them. And without them I have no idea what readers think of the story or where it is going. Thanks._


	4. Next Steps

_(Special thanks to Sydney and my anon reviwer. Thanks for the comments, they are greatly appreciated.) _

October 17th 1700 Hours

Roman sat in a parked in the SUV a few houses down from the target's house. He was linked by radio headset to Seth who was set up in the woods ready to sniper out their target and to Dean who hidden down the street in the opposite direction in his own car, also linked to them with a headset radio.

"Rollins, report." Roman said.

"Everything is normal." Seth said.

"Ambrose." Roman said.

"All clear down here." Dean said.

"If it gets much darker, I might not be able to get a good shot." Seth said.

"We'll worry about that in a bit." Roman said.

The three of them stayed alert, watching for any signs of their target or any potential witnesses that may come out of houses or be on the sidewalk.

Roman saw the target's red Charger turn down the street.

"Target just turned down the street. Headed your way, Rollins. Ambrose be alert." Roman said.

Rori pulled into her driveway and shut off her engine. She stepped out of her car and heard a dog barking.

"Hey little guy, come on." She called.

Dean watched as a skinny, dirty and obviously stray dog barked and ran up to their target. He realized the food on the back porch they had seen when at her house must've been for the dog.

"My side is clear." Roman said.

"I got a clear shot. Ambrose?" Seth said.

Rori kneeled down and patted the dog that was obviously glad to see her. She chuckled and scratched behind his ear.

"Ambrose, report. Is your area clear?" Roman demanded.

Rori continued petting the dog, trying to pull some briars out of his fur.

"Ambrose, fuck, report!" Seth said.

"Roman, she is caring for a stray dog! This is not a dangerous person!" Dean yelled.

"We don't have fucking time for this! I got a clear shot now tell me if your area is clear!" Seth yelled.

"I am telling you, Rori is innocent. Something is wrong with this. We can't kill her!" Dean yelled.

"No fucking names! Roman, get him under control." Seth gritted out.

"Roman…Joe…listen to me. Rori is an innocent woman." Dean said.

"Stop with the fucking name!" Seth seethed.

"You saw Rori's house, you saw Rori help that veteran, you know Rori's case is the weakest we've ever been handed." Dean was ready to jump out of his car if he had to.

"Ambrose, shut the fuck up. Reigns, just give the order." Seth said.

"You see Rori, she is right there caring for a stray dog. She left food for him while she was out of town. Does that sound like a killer?" Dean pleaded.

"Reigns?" Seth asked.

"Roman, we can't kill an innocent woman!" Dean yelled.

"Reigns?" Seth called again.

"Stand down, Rollins." Roman said.

"What?" Seth was shocked.

"I said stand down. I am leaving the SUV here for you. I will ride back with Ambrose. Dean, you're with me." Roman said.

"What the fuck?" Seth yelled.

"Something is wrong with this whole case. Someone had to have given us bad Intel and that means someone wants this woman dead. We're gonna need her to figure this out." Roman said.

"What the hell?" Seth was stunned.

"We can keep her safe in the meantime. We're gonna take her. Ambrose is your area clear?" Roman asked.

"All clear." Dean said.

"All clear. Move." Roman said.

Roman climbed out of the SUV and hurried down the street towards Rori. Dean climbed out of his car and hurried towards her as well. She stood up from petting the dog and saw Dean running towards her.

"You need to come with us." Dean said.

"What…." She was cut off by Roman putting a hand over her mouth.

"Try to stay calm." Roman said as she fought against him and cringed as he felt her biting his hand.

Dean helped Roman restrain Rori and between the two of them she was powerless despite her best attempt to fight. They quickly pulled her down the street and Dean opened the door to the backseat of his car. Roman pulled her in and sat in the back seat with her. Dean jumped in the front seat and started the car. He quickly checked around for witnesses and pulled out.

"We're clear and we have the target with us." Dean told Rollins.

"I will meet you at the house." Rollins said.

Dean looked in the rearview mirror at Roman holding tight to Rori so she wouldn't try opening the doors while the car was moving.

Roman removed his hand from her mouth. "We're not going to hurt you."

Rori just stared at them. Dean cringed at the fear he saw in her face.

"Please, don't hurt me." She said.

"We're not going to. We're trying to help you." Roman said.

"Just don't hurt me, please." She pleaded.

"Everything is going to be okay." Dean said. "Are you hurt?"

"Just let me go." She said. "Please, I haven't done anything to you."

"Try to stay calm. We'll explain everything in a bit." Roman said.

Dean drove them to the guys' house outside of Quantico. It was very secluded so they didn't have to worry about anyone seeing Rori with them. He pulled the car into the garage and shut off the engine. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw Rori was quietly crying and Roman still holding to her so she didn't escape. Dean got out of the car and opened the door to the backseat and helped Roman get Rori out.

They walked her into the house and walked into the living room.

"I am going to let you go. You need to sit on the couch and stay calm." Roman said.

Roman let go of her slowly. She sat down on the couch, staring wide-eyed at the two men standing in front of her.

"What is this all about? If you are planning to hold me for ransom, you have the wrong person….my family doesn't have anything special." Rori said.

"This isn't a kidnapping. We have taken you into protective custody because the DXS assigned us to kill you." Roman said.

"What? Why would the DXS kill people? And why would anyone want to kill me?" Rori yelled.

"Calm down Ms. Collins." Roman said. "We'll explain."

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"We're an assassin team in a division of the DXS…Department of External Services. It's a division that the government would publically deny exists but it is used to eliminate threats to the government, public safety or national security." Dean said.

"You expect me to believe that?" Rori asked.

"It's true. Unsolved murders….people killed and no evidence…a lot of those are hits from an assassin team. The DXS has branches across the US." Dean said.

"Here….it's a real organization. I know it's hard to believe but you need to trust us." Roman handed her his DXS badge and ID.

Rori looked at his ID, stunned and still not quite believing what she was hearing. Suddenly a door slammed. They looked up as Seth stomped into the room.

"Ambrose, you fucking asshole. I had a clear shot! You know better than to use names!" Seth punched Dean, knocking him to the ground.

Rori screamed and tried to jump off the couch but Roman caught her.

"Lopez….that is enough! I agree with Dean. When you calm down you will realize that you don't want the murder of an innocent woman on your head!" Roman yelled.

Roman nudged Rori to sit down on the couch again. Dean stood up glaring at Seth.

"Ms. Collins, we were assigned to kill you. Informants and Intel gathered by the DXS indicates that you planned to kill Senator Mantin." Roman said.

"Are you people out of your minds? Kill Senator Mantin? I love that man. He is great for the state of West Virginia. I loved him when he was our governor and was thrilled when he took over Senator Byrd's senate seat. I would never hurt Joe Mantin. West Virginia needs him!" she said.

"Have you recently bought any guns or explosives?" Dean asked.

"Seriously…is this like Punk'd or something? I don't own any guns and I am terrified of explosives….I get nervous holding sparklers on the 4th of July!" Rori yelled.

"Have you attended any meetings with citizens wanting to overthrow the US government?" Roman asked.

"Why the hell would I do that? Seriously, what is all this?" she said.

Dean sat down beside her and she scooted as far away from him as she could get.

"We are not going to hurt you." Dean tried to reassure her.

"We were assigned to kill you so that you would not harm Senator Mantin, but…the evidence against you doesn't quite add up and well…." Roman struggled for words.

"Whatever you think you have against me has to be wrong. I am not planning to hurt anyone. I would never want to overthrow the government. My dad would rise up from the grave and beat me senseless if I even thought of betraying this country. I was raised by a veteran." Rori said.

"We know, we researched you and that is why we found it hard to believe that you were planning to kill a senator." Roman said.

"I am innocent of all this nonsense. I will take a polygraph, swear on a Bible….whatever. The only thing I am guilty of is watching too many horror movies." Rori said.

"I believe her." Dean said.

"So do I." Roman said.

Seth sighed. He reached down and pulled up one leg of his pants and took a handgun out of its leg holster.

"Lopez, no!" Roman yelled.

Seth ignored him and handed the gun to Rori. She stared at him like he was crazy.

"What the fuck?" Dean yelled.

Seth waved him off and watched Rori. She looked at the gun and then set it on the floor.

"That was your way out. You could've shot us and left." Seth said.

"I don't know how to use it and I would probably end up hurting myself." She said quietly.

Seth clenched his fists. "Fuck!" He stalked over and punched the wall.

Rori hugged herself, afraid at his violent outburst.

"Seth, calm down!" Roman yelled.

"Calm down? I almost killed an innocent woman! She doesn't know how to use a gun, let alone kill a senator!" Seth yelled.

"You need to focus. Right now we have to figure out how and why the DXS got false information that caused us to nearly kill an innocent person. More people could be in danger. And we need to figure out why Rori was targeted, because she is still in danger from whoever falsified information against her." Roman said.

"You think someone purposely falsified that information so we would kill her? Maybe it was just a mistake." Dean said.

"Since when does the DXS make mistakes when lives are at stake?" Roman pointed out.

"She is safest here with us. And whoever wanted her dead will think she is, maybe make a mistake and reveal themselves." Dean said.

"We need to figure out who has targeted you. You need to stay here with us while we figure this out. You'll be safe because no one knows you're here and when you disappear, whoever the false informant is will think we took you out as ordered." Roman told her.

"You expect me to stay here? I don't know you and this all sounds so unreal that I expect to see Arnold Swartzenegger to burst through the door, guns ablaze." She yelled.

"You don't have a choice. You go home right now, you are in danger. Here we can keep you safe and figure out why you were targeted." Roman said.

Rori stared at them, not sure what to think. "This is all too unbelievable."

Seth walked into the kitchen and came back and handed Rori a folder.

"This is the file we were given on you. This is real, someone wants you dead." Seth told her.

Rori looked up from the folder. "I guess I have to trust you."

"You can trust us." Dean said.

"I need to call where I work. And I need to call my mom." Rori said.

"You can't do that." Seth said.

"What? I can't just not show up to work and I can't just not tell my family what is going on!" she yelled.

"When people realize you're missing, you will probably be reported as a missing person. We need that in order to figure out what is going on." Roman said.

"I can't do this. I will not put my mother through the agony of thinking I am dead or kidnapped!" Rori yelled. "I am going home!"

"You'll be in danger." Roman said.

"I don't care! I won't do that to my mom. I won't!" she stood up and tried to walk past Roman but he blocked her path.

"I know this is hard and you are scared….but right now you are going to have to be a missing person." Roman said. "Quit being stubborn."

"You don't understand, I am all mama has! She is a widow, she has no other children and she just lost her brother! I am all she has and I can't let her think I am dead! I can't!" Rori yelled and began crying.

"You have to." Roman said.

"No! I won't do it! I won't!" she cried and tried to get past Roman. "I won't! I won't!"

Roman knew she was scared, confused and hurting. He sighed and gently put an arm around her, letting her sob against his chest. Dean stood up and walked over to them.

"Rori, I know you want to save your mother some pain and that is understandable. But we don't know who or why someone made false accusations against you. If whoever it is makes false accusations against someone else, whoever is assigned to kill them might do it not realizing the accusations are false." Dean said. "Sometimes you just have to be brave and do the tough thing."

Rori pulled away from Roman. "Okay…I'll do whatever I can to help. I don't want anyone else innocent in a mess."

"Thank you." Roman rubbed her shoulder.

"But please figure this out as fast as you can. I don't want mama to suffer for long. I don't want her in misery." She said.

"We will. We won't stop until we figure it out." Dean promised her.

"Seth, take Ms. Collins upstairs to clean up and show her to one of the guest rooms." Roman said.

"Thank you." She said and quietly followed Seth up the stairs.

"How long can we keep her here?" Dean asked.

"We need to figure this out and fast. I am assigning you to watch over her. Keep an eye on her that she doesn't leave or in case she wants to call her family. And look out for her while she is here. We don't know who or why someone wants her dead and she seems to have a stubborn streak." Roman said.

2300 hours

Dean made his way up the stairs headed towards the guest room. Roman and Seth told him that Rori had not come out since Seth showed her where she would be staying. It was to be expected. She couldn't just instantly trust them and they knew she had to be in shock. Dean made his way down the hall to the guest room she was staying in. He gently knocked on the door.

"Come in." he heard from the other side.

He walked in and saw Rori sitting in the window seat looking outside. She looked up at him and he could see her tense up.

"It's okay….you don't have to be afraid. I know it's a lot to take in all of a sudden, but we're not going to hurt you." Dean stepped further into the room.

"I know, I figured if you were, one of you would've done something already." She said.

"I went out and picked up a few things for you." Dean set a bag on the bed. "Some shampoo, hairspray, body wash, toothpaste…that type thing. I don't know what you usually use." He said.

"Thank you." She said.

"If it's not what you want, let me know and I can get you a certain brand or whatever." Dean said.

"It's fine, thank you. I appreciate it." She said.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked her.

"Do I have a choice?" she glared at him.

"I know you are scared….in the course of a few hours your whole life has been turned upside down." He said.

"What do you care? You're an assassin. Do you even have feelings?" she snapped.

"Believe it or not, we do have feelings. It's not easy to take a human life even when you know it's in the service of your country." Dean said.

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I don't know anything about the type of life you lead."

"You're going to be here a few days, would you like me to show you around?" he offered.

She chewed her lip a moment and then nodded. She stood up and slowly followed Dean out of her room.

"This bathroom you can use. Towels and wash clothes are under the sink." Dean showed her the room across the hall. "Roman's room is two doors down from your room. Seth's room and my room are around the corner."

She followed Dean further down the hall. "This is our office. There is a library in there. If you want to read…let one of us know and we'll take you in."

"I can't read alone?" she asked.

"You can't go in there alone. We have classified documents and such in there so we'll go with you to avoid problems." Dean said.

"I understand." She nodded.

"I figured you would. Your dad had to sign confidentiality agreements about his service during the cold war." Dean said.

"How did you…"

"I told you, we researched you in and out." Dean said.

Dean led her downstairs. "You have already seen the living room." He led her into the kitchen. "You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen, if you want anything we don't have, let us know. That is the back deck, we have a Jacuzzi and a pool, but it's kinda cold for swimming no matter what Seth says."

She gave a small smile.

"Dining room, but we usually eat at the breakfast bar." He walked further in the house. "Den/game room. Seth has a ton of movies so feel free to watch whatever you want."

"Does he have any horror movies?" she perked up.

Dean chuckled. "You can ask him. If not, he has a Netflix account."

"It's October, so I usually watch a lot of horror movies this month." She said.

"Downstairs we have a gym, feel free to exercise whenever you want." Dean said. She nodded and followed Dean. He opened another door. "This is the billiards room. Pool, darts and a mini bar. Just a warning, Seth is a pool shark."

She nodded.

"Try to relax as much as you can. I promise, you are safe and we'll get to the bottom of these false accusations." Dean said.

"Thank you….I appreciate the help even if I can't quite believe this is really happening." Rori said. "I think I am gonna shower and try to get some sleep."

Dean watched as Rori walked back upstairs using the backstairs. He double checked the alarm system, making sure that they were secure for the night and that if Rori tried to leave in the middle of the night, the alarms would go off. He walked upstairs and into his room. He pulled open a few drawers, grabbing an old t-shirt and a pair of sleep pants. He walked back down the hall and knocked on Rori's door.

"It's open." She said. Dean walked in. "Did you forget something?" she asked.

"I brought you something to sleep in. We don't have any female clothes. I know these will be huge on you, but the pants have a drawstring, it might help." Dean said. "We'll figure out something about getting you some clothes in the morning."

"Thank you, that is very nice of you." She said.

"If you need an extra blanket, there should be one in the closet." Dean said. "Goodnight, Ms. Collins."

"If I am gonna be here awhile, just call me Rori." She said.

Dean nodded and walked out, shutting the door behind him.


	5. What Now?

October 18th

0700 Hours

Seth sat on the back deck, listening to the sounds of early morning. He was still trying to sort out his feelings over what had gone down the previous evening. He was startled when Roman sat down in the chair next to his.

"You wanna talk about it?" Roman asked.

"How did you know I was upset?" Seth asked.

"We've been a team how long now? When Dean is upset he smokes like a chimney and withdraws from us. When you are upset you either overdo it in the gym or sit alone early in the morning trying to think." Roman said.

"You said you trusted our Intel." Seth said.

Roman sighed. "I did…at least I thought I did. But the nagging questions just screamed at me when I saw her up close knowing she was about to die and…..I had to make a snap decision."

"You assigned me to kill her." Seth said.

"I know and like always you were following orders…and you followed them when I told you to stand down. I'm sorry it was rushed and you were caught off guard." Roman said.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Seth asked.

"I think she is innocent, but something, somewhere is wrong with this case. Dean has felt it awhile now. I feel it now. What do you feel? About her?" Roman asked.

"At first….I thought you brought a terrorist into our home….now…I dunno." Seth sighed. "I watched her room last night."

"And?"

"And nothing. Her door never opened. Dean took her some clothes and then I never heard or saw any more of her all night." Seth sighed.

"Think we can trust her?" Roman asked.

"Yeah. I think if she was up to something, she would have been out of her room, snooping around or trying to find a way out." Seth sighed. "But I still have questions."

"So do I. But we need to move fast. If the DXS has been betrayed, others could be in danger." Roman said.

"What about her?" Seth asked.

"I have assigned Dean to watch her. My biggest worry is she is going to try contacting someone. She seems stubborn as hell." Roman said. "I gotta make some phone calls."

0900 Hours

Roman walked into the kitchen finding Dean drinking a cup of coffee. Roman walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Where is Seth?" Roman asked.

"Last I saw him he was in the gym. He is still dealing with the fact he almost killed an innocent person." Dean said.

"I called AJ." Roman sat down at the breakfast bar.

"How did that go?" Dean asked.

"I started out by asking if she knew any more about Rori's case…and she got mad. She said that she expected us to do our job without question. It's obvious AJ isn't going to be any help." Roman sighed. "I finally just told her that she would soon be hearing reports that Rori was a missing person. AJ took it to mean that we had killed her somewhere secluded." Roman sighed. "This is a fucking disaster."

Seth walked into the kitchen, covered in sweat. He grabbed a bottle of water and sat down beside Roman.

"Feeling better?" Roman asked.

"Getting there. How is our guest?" Seth asked.

"I haven't seen her this morning. Either she isn't awake or she is staying in her room." Dean said.

"I feel bad for her. She is in this mess through no fault of her own. I really believe that." Roman said.

"We need to get her some clothes. I gave her some of mine to sleep in last night but she is gonna need actual clothes she can wear." Dean said.

"Well we can't take any from her house. If police see some of her clothes missing, they will assume she left on her own and will refuse to list her as missing." Roman said.

"Well none of us know how to shop for women's clothes." Seth protested.

"Maybe we can order her some online." Roman said.

"If AJ is no help, what is our next move?" Dean asked.

"We sit down with Rori and find out if there is anyone in her life or past that might have a reason to hurt her." Roman said. "Dean, remember you are assigned to look after her."

"I am worried she is gonna try to bolt out of here." Seth said. "Watch her close."

Roman got up to fix himself a cup of coffee. He heard a noise in the doorway and looked up to see Rori standing there looking comical in Dean's clothes that were too big for her.

"Good morning, you hungry?" Seth asked.

She bit her lip and nodded.

"You like bacon and eggs?" Seth asked. She nodded. "I'll fix you some. Have a seat. You like coffee?"

"Yes, thank you." She took a seat next to Dean at the breakfast bar.

Seth got up and went to fixing breakfast for Rori and himself. Roman walked out of the room without saying anything. Dean was relieved to see Seth warming up to Rori.

"You sleep okay?" Dean asked.

"Not really. I am still so confused and upset." She said.

"I know but we'll get it figured out." Dean said.

"We're gonna have to ask you some questions so we can try figuring this out. You up to that?" Seth asked as he laid bacon in a pan.

"Yeah, what do you need to know?" she asked.

"Is there anyone in your life that might have a reason to wanna hurt you? Maybe a bitter ex-boyfriend, a fight with a family member?" Dean asked.

"No, I mean my mom's side of the family fights a lot but I am not in any of that because I am out of state. Besides, none of them would know how to get in contact with something like the DXS. I got a few cousins that can't take a piss without messing the front of their pants!" Rori said.

Seth burst out laughing. "I love that movie."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What about where you work? You ever have a problem with someone over pharmaceuticals? Maybe someone who wanted you to let them have more than they were supposed to or trying to buy stuff under the table?"

"Nothing serious. Laws dictate how much controlled substances people can get in a certain time period so that helps avoid most problems. When I get someone I think is an addict or trying to get more than they should, I deal with it. And I have never had someone try to buy drugs under the table, if I did I would've immediately went to the authorities." Rori said.

Roman walked back in with a laptop. He set it in front of Rori and handed her some papers and a credit card. She looked up at him confused.

"What is all this?" she asked.

"You're gonna need some clothes and since we can't take anything from your house, and we can't take you out in public to buy anything and we have no clue how to buy women's clothes….order what you need. Have it overnighted to the address I gave you. Use that credit card. Whatever you need is fine, we want you to be comfortable." Roman said.

"Thank you, I will order just a few things." She said.

"Get whatever you want, PJs, jeans, undergarments, shoes, whatever." Roman assured her.

"Okay, but when this is all over I am reimbursing you for this." She insisted.

"So stubborn. Just order your clothes." Roman chuckled.

1800 hours

Dean sighed as he walked into the game room and found Rori looking through Seth's movie collection. She hadn't spoken much all day and had kept to herself. Roman had spent the day looking into Rori's father's background. He had a theory that maybe something her father had done during the cold war had caused an enemy to pop up. He hadn't found much but was still looking into it.

Seth walked in and noticed Rori looking at his movies.

"Is she okay?" Seth whispered.

"I don't know. I think she trusts us but is still wary. After all, we are strangers to her." Dean answered.

"Is there something you want to watch?" Seth walked over and asked her. She shrugged. "I have a little bit of everything. I have action, thriller, drama, sci-fi, some kids movies, even a few chick flicks…Roman gives me a hard time about that."

Rori gave a small chuckle.

"You're a West Virginia girl…I have 'We Are Marshall'. And…let's see…..oh yeah 'The Hatfield's and McCoy's' mini-series that was on History Channel." Seth said.

"They got the story wrong." Rori said.

"Huh?" Seth looked up.

"The mini-series…they had a lot of the story wrong." She said.

"How do you know?" Dean asked.

"Because the part of West Virginia I come from is right where all that stuff happened. When that mini-series came out, people flocked into southwest West Virginia to see the sites where the feud happened, but I have known this stuff since I was born." Rori said.

"That's awesome. So what did they get wrong in the mini-series?" Seth asked.

"Make a run for it Rori, you start talking movies with Seth and he may never shut up." Dean groaned. Seth flipped him off.

"Oh they got a lot wrong. I could name 20 things off the top of my head that was either wrong or misrepresented." Rori said.

"Great, tell me." Seth smiled.

"Well, let's start with the 'love story' between Roseanna and Johnse….wrong. Johnse was a womanizer and Roseanna was just another conquest that happened to get pregnant and he certainly never loved her his entire life and didn't care about the baby either. Do you know how many times I have wanted to spit on his grave when I go to the Hatfield Cemetery?" she chuckled.

"You've been to his grave?" Seth's eyes lit up.

"Run, Rori, I mean it." Dean joked.

"Sure, Devil Anse and most of his kids were buried not far from my childhood home. Cap was buried separate from them because he and Anse had a falling out years after the feud. Speaking of Cap, he was not blind in one eye, I have no idea why they portrayed that he was….."

Dean tuned out their conversation as Rori continued telling Seth the differences in history and the movie. Even though he found the conversation boring, he was glad that Rori was opening up and talking; and he was amazed that she knew this stuff off the top of her head.

"Really…he was only 14 years old?" Seth asked. "And he hadn't even done anything?"

"Right, he was trying to protect his little brother William who was the one that really fired the gun. William grieved himself to death and was buried alongside Tolbert, Pharmer and Bud." Rori went on.

Dean got up and walked into the kitchen. Roman was in there grabbing a beer.

"Any luck?" Dean asked.

"During the cold war her dad served at Fort Hood and was involved in guarding nuclear weapons. I can't find anything in his record, even the parts that were sealed and confidential that would've caused someone to go after his family…especially 50 years later." Roman said. "How is she?"

"Seth and his crazy movies got her talking and she is giving some warped history lesson that has his full attention like a kid on Christmas." Dean chuckled.

"I never added two and two together until I started researching her dad. He had her very late in life. William Collins married a much younger woman and they had Rori." Roman said.

"Well if her dad is a dead end…what next?" Dean asked.

"I think I may have to go to Hunter for help." Roman said. "She showing any signs of running?"

"Hard to say. She hasn't said much all day and has kept to herself." Dean said.

"Keep a close watch on her. I have a feeling she is gonna fight like hell if she has to be here very long." Roman sighed.

_**Author's Note-**__ Bonus points to anyone who knows the movie Rori quoted in the kitchen. Please review, feedback is great. And special thanks to PL-LovesDAandSPNForever946 for an awesome review. _


	6. Protective Custody Day 2

October 19th 0930 Hours

Roman walked into the kitchen to find Seth and Rori talking about movies again while eating breakfast. He rolled his eyes but was happy to see that Rori seemed to be opening up more.

"I can't believe you have never seen the 'Nightmare on Elm Street 2'." Rori laughed.

"Not all of us watch more horror movies than Stephen King." Seth said.

"A lot of critics give the 2nd movie in the series a bad review but I liked it, although the gym teacher that was into bondage was a bit strange." She laughed.

Roman stopped pouring his coffee to look over at her with a raised eyebrow. "A teacher into bondage?"

"Yeah, I read an article a while back that 'Nightmare on Elm Street 2' was full of homoerotic themes. I guess it depends on how you look at it. Like where the lead male character is making out with his girlfriend and then freaks out and runs to see his best friend. When I watch that, I take that as meaning the lead got freaked out by Freddy and went to his friend for help…the article said that the lead was confused by his sexuality and left the girlfriend to go to his best friend because he was attracted to him." She explained.

"That is hilarious." Seth chuckled.

Dean walked in carrying two large boxes and a small box. "Rori, the clothes you ordered were delivered."

"Thank you, guess I should go get this sorted out." She stood up.

"I'll carry them upstairs for you." Dean said and followed her out of the kitchen.

The two of them walked up the stairs and down the hall to the room where Rori was staying. Dean walked into the room and set the boxes down on the bed for her.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"What all did you order?" he asked.

"Some pajamas, a swimsuit, some shoes, socks, jeans, sweats, some tops, bras, panties." She said.

"Looks like you're all set." Dean smiled.

"I just miss my Twilight Woods." She said.

"Your what?"

"Every October I wear Twilight Woods from Bath and Body Works. It's a nice fall smell." She smiled. "I love October….it's such a fun month, you know. Horror movies, carving pumpkins, making fried apples. Guess that is kind of silly."

"No, sounds nice." Dean assured her.

1900 hours

Roman was sitting in the kitchen at the breakfast bar, drawing in his sketchpad. He looked outside and saw Rori sitting on the back deck, despite the cold air. Dean had gone out earlier and asked Roman to take over looking after Rori while he was out. Roman looked at her, knowing she was deep in thought.

Seth walked in. "What is she doing?"

"She made a cup of tea and went out to the deck." Roman said.

"Did you get anything useful from researching other members of Rori's family?" Seth asked.

"No, her mom has led a pretty quiet life. Her uncle that just passed was clean except for having a host of illegitimate kids. The Maury Show would've had a field day with that man." Roman sighed. "We're gonna need Hunter."

Dean walked in carrying two shopping bags. He set the bags on the table.

"You went to Bath and Body Works?" Seth asked.

"I went for Rori…she mentioned earlier she uses something from there but damn….I didn't realize how much crap there is out there for women." Dean said.

Roman raised an eyebrow.

"Where is Rori?" Dean asked.

"She has been out on the deck for about an hour." Roman said.

Dean walked over and knocked on the glass sliding door. Rori looked up and saw him. He waved for her to come inside. She stood up and walked across the deck and opened the sliding doors.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No, I got you something." Dean said and handed her the bag from Bath and Body Works.

Rori peered inside and saw the products in her favorite scent he had bought her. "Dean, you didn't have to get me this. I wasn't asking earlier."

"I know that, but it's bad enough for you to be away from your home and job and routine while you're stuck here. I thought it might be nice to at least let you have the scent you always wear in October." He shrugged.

Roman raised his eyebrow again as Rori dug through the bag.

"I hope it's what you use. There is so much stuff in this scent; I don't see how you ladies keep up with it all." Dean said. "After staring at the display for 10 minutes, one of the employees came over and rescued me."

"Dean, you really need to learn how to shop for ladies." Seth joked.

"Fine, if Rori needs tampons you can go buy them." Dean said, causing Rori to laugh.

"Dean this is great, more than enough actually. You got me body wash, lotion, body spray, you even got me body butter." She smiled. "Thank you….that was so sweet of you." She hugged him.

Dean was a bit startled but wrapped an arm around her. "It's no big deal."

"What's in the other bag?" Seth asked.

"I bought a couple pumpkins." Dean said. "You wanna carve one?"

Rori smiled. "I would love to."

"I'll get you a knife." Seth said.

"You wanna help?" she asked Seth.

"Sure, I got nothing to do tonight." Seth said digging through the knife drawer.

"I'll need a spoon and a bowl. If you get me a pan I can bake the seeds." She said as she sat down.

Roman smiled as she sat down across from him, glad she was relaxed at least for the moment. Dean took a seat beside Roman. Seth handed Rori the kitchen utensils she requested.

"You carved a lot of jack o lanterns before?" Seth asked.

"Yeah, back home every year I'd carve a couple pumpkins, bake the seeds, watch horror movies, and go on hayrides. Or me and my friends would go to Holden and try to see Mamie Thurman." Rori chuckled.

"Who is that?" Dean asked.

Rori cut out the top of the pumpkin. "Mamie Thurman is a very popular ghost story in Logan County. Whether or not she is a ghost is anyone's guess, but she was a real woman that was murdered in 1932."

"Who killed her?" Roman looked up from his drawing.

"Her landlord's handyman was convicted of the murder, but considering it was the 1930s and he was African American there are a lot of doubts that he actually did it. Especially since she was rumored to be having an affair with a prominent businessman…who just happened to also be the landlord I just mentioned. And then there is the mystery surrounding where she actually ended up being buried at." Rori said.

"And this is a ghost story?" Roman asked, glad Rori was opening up even if it was a silly ghost story.

"Yeah, you know those vanishing hitchhiker stories…she falls in that category." Rori chuckled. "Lots of truck drivers going in and out of the mines report seeing her walking near Holden Mine Road 22. Some even claim they picked up a woman wearing old fashioned clothes and she disappeared from their truck."

"Sounds like something you would see on Ghost Hunters." Seth said.

"Well I have never seen her, but I got a cousin that refuses to drive near where Mamie supposedly walks." She laughed.

_**Author's Note-**__ This was a filler chapter without much action but was needed. The next chapter will be out soon with more going on in it. Special thanks to PL-LovesDAandSPNForever946 and my guest reader for the great reviews. Reviews help inspire me so keep them coming! _


	7. Newspaper Article

October 20th 0900 hours

Roman sighed as he walked into the kitchen. He wasn't sure if he should tell Rori about the morning newspaper or not. He saw her eating breakfast with Seth and Dean. Seth looked up at Roman and frowned.

"What's going on Roman?" Seth asked.

"Rori, I want you to stay as calm as possible, we knew this was gonna happen." Roman said.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"You have been reported missing, just like we wanted to happen. It's in the paper this morning….page 6." Roman handed her the newspaper.

Rori opened the paper to page 6. Seth and Dean leaned over to read the article as well.

_**Local Pharmacist Missing, Foul Play Possible**_

_ Authorities are looking into the disappearance of Rori Sue Collins, after she failed to report to work earlier this week. Collins, who is employed by Express Pharmacy in Quantico, failed to report to work on October 18 causing colleagues to call the police. Police were dispatched to her home where they found her home locked and everything in order. However, Collins' car was in the driveway, unlocked with her purse and a gym bag still inside. Friends report that Collins is very responsible and would never leave without alerting someone where she was going and she would never abandon her work obligations. _

_ Authorities contacted Rori's family in West Virginia. Her mother stated that Collins' was not with her and she did not know of her whereabouts and she would never go anywhere without her purse and cell phone. Further investigation found that Ms. Collins did not take any clothes or money with her and none of her credit cards or bank account has been used since October 17. _

_ Colleagues state that Collins was at work as scheduled on October 17 and left in good spirits, stating she was going to a local gym to work out. Gym employees confirm that Collins was at the gym that evening but said they did not see anything out of the ordinary. Authorities admit they are concerned for Rori Collins' welfare but state that she may have left on her own accord. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the whereabouts of Collins' to contact Quantico Police; you may remain anonymous if you wish._

Rori set the newspaper down. She didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?" Roman asked.

She nodded but didn't say anything.

"We knew this was gonna happen." Seth told her.

"But, now mama knows I am missing. This is gonna hurt her so much." She said.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Dean asked. She shook her head. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I think so." She said.

Dean reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Remember, sometimes you just have to be brave and do the tough thing."

She nodded and stood up. She walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. Roman sat down and sighed.

"This is killing her." Roman said.

"We'll get her through it, we have to." Seth said.

2100 hours

Dean walked upstairs to the second floor. He was concerned about Rori; she had not been out of her room much today and had skipped dinner. He knew she was upset after reading the newspaper earlier. He knocked on her door.

"Come in."

Dean walked in and saw Rori sitting in the window seat looking out again.

"How you feeling?" Dean asked her.

"A little better. I just wish this was all over." She said.

"You feel up to a few movies?" he sat down next to her.

"What?"

"I raided Seth's movies and found a few horror movies. Thought it would cheer you up." Dean said.

She gave a small smile. "That sounds nice."

"Well come on." Dean smiled and stood up.

Rori followed Dean out of her room. They walked downstairs and into the game room. Rori sat down on the couch and saw several movies laid out on the coffee table. Dean sat down beside her.

"Okay, what do you want to watch? I found 'Night of the Living Dead' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and '1408' and Seth also has the entire 'Friday the 13th' series." Dean said.

"How about 'Night of the Living Dead'? George Romero is a horror movie legend." She said.

"You got it." Dean stood up to put the movie in.

Dean sat down beside Rori again as the movie began. Dean hadn't seen the movie in years so he was actually watching.

"You know my mom and cousin nearly hurt themselves over this movie once?" Rori spoke up.

"Really? How?" Dean asked.

"It was Christmas Eve…I was still little enough to believe in Santa so I was in bed early. Mom and my cousin were watching this movie….why they weren't watching something about Christmas I don't know…anyways, it was the beginning of the movie where they are driving to the cemetery like we just saw and there was a knock at the door." Rori chuckled. "Mama and my cousin were so startled they screamed, dad came running out of kitchen to see what was wrong, it even woke me up…..turned out it was a neighbor bringing by some Christmas cookies and pies."

Dean chuckled. "That's funny." She nodded. "I know you are worried about your mother. I promise, we're gonna get you out of here as soon as we can. Roman is going to speak with the head of the DXS tomorrow."

"Thank you…..I don't mean to come off as ungrateful for what you guys are doing…it's just so…"

"I know…its okay." He said.

They turned back towards the movie watching in comfortable silence for a while. Dean was happy that Rori was relaxing and enjoying herself.

"I have always wondered which would've been the better course of action to take in this movie." Rori broke him from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"The characters are arguing whether it is safer to go into the basement or to stay upstairs. If they had all gone into the basement, they all would've survived but would've been stuck with only one zombie to deal with. But if they hadn't been upstairs to hear the news broadcasts they wouldn't know how to kill a zombie and that one could've taken them all out anyway." She said.

Dean burst out laughing. She looked over at him.

"I am not laughing at you….it's just cute that you actually thought this through." He chuckled.

"Well what would you do in this situation? You have all kinds of highly specialized training…what would you do?" she smiled.

Dean thought a moment. "I would not have let that girl go with her boyfriend to the gas pump….that was a distraction. I think I would've put the women in the basement to keep them safe and stayed with the men in the upstairs, that way the women would be safe and I could get them to let me in the basement if it was needed."

She laughed. "I like that plan. I guess if the zombie apocalypse ever does happen, I better stick with you."

"Oh really?" he chuckled.

"Yes, and I promise to not be like the women in horror movies that always get themselves into trouble. I'll do what you tell me and not trip when running through the woods in a towel." She winked.

"You watch way too many of these movies." He laughed.

2330 hours

Seth came in from the back deck where he had been using the hot tub. Roman was sitting at the breakfast bar with his sketchpad.

"What are you up to?" Seth asked.

"Just finishing a drawing before heading to bed." Roman said.

"Rori enjoying the movies?" Seth asked. "I saw her and Dean in the game room earlier watching some horror movies. Dean thought it would cheer her up after the rough day she had." Seth said.

Roman raised his eyebrow. "Everything must be okay, haven't heard a peep out of them."

"I'll go see what they are watching, might join them. You wanna?" Seth asked.

Roman shrugged and set his sketchpad on the breakfast bar. He stood up and followed Seth towards the game room, both stopping when got to the doorway. Dean was asleep in the corner of the couch and Rori was asleep against his chest. They had apparently fallen asleep during a movie as they could see the menu for '1408' playing on the screen. Seth chuckled and quietly turned off the TV. Roman walked back into the kitchen and picked up his sketchpad. Seth walked back in and sat down across from him.

"I can see what's happening." Seth sang.

"Huh?" Roman looked up at him.

"And they don't have a clue." Seth sang.

"What the fuck?" Roman asked.

"They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line…our trio's down to two." Seth sang and chuckled.

"Oh for fuck's sake. Must be a full moon. Dean is in there snuggled up with a girl, however accidental it may be…while I am out here being serenaded by Seth with kiddie songs." Roman rolled his eyes. "You need to quit watching movies."

"Come on, it was funny." Seth said.

"If you say so." Roman looked at his drawing. "Sometimes your sense of humor is insane!"

"I think Dean really cares about Rori. He is trying hard to keep her in good spirits…I mean we all are but he seems to like her." Seth said.

"Who knows, Dean is hard to read." Roman said.

"She is cute." Seth said.

"No argument there." Roman said.

"She's smart." Seth said.

"No argument again." Roman said. "But like I said, Dean is hard to read."

"You meeting with Hunter tomorrow?" Seth asked.

"Yes, and I hope he can help. Rori is hurting and I know her mother must be losing her mind." Roman said.

"You really like her too." Seth said.

"I just want to make sure she is safe and that we find out the truth." Roman said.

_**Author's Note- **__Bonus points to anyone who knows what Seth was singing. LOL. Special thanks to PL-LovesDAandSPNForever946 for another awesome review. Helps inspire me!_


	8. Protective Custody Continues

October 21st, 0800 hours

Roman knocked on the door to Hunter Helmsley's office. Hunter was the head of the assassin division of the DXS and was rumored to soon be moving to a position on the DXS board of directors. He had an appointment with him for that morning. Roman needed help finding who wanted Rori dead and was giving false information to the DXS.

"Come on in Reigns." Hunter called.

Roman walked in and saw Hunter seated behind his desk.

"Have a seat Reigns, what is going on?" Hunter asked.

Roman handed Hunter the newspaper article from the previous day about Rori's disappearance. "I need you to find out anything you can on this woman."

Hunter glanced over the article. "Why are you taking interest in a missing person's case?"

"Have you ever heard of her? Rori Collins, do you know anything about her?" Reigns asked.

"No, should I have?" Hunter was confused. "What is going on?"

"I can't tell you that just yet. But I can tell you this girl is in trouble and I have been unable to find anything of any use." Roman said.

"Reigns, you're not making sense. Do you know where this woman is?" Hunter asked.

"I can't talk about that right now. But can you search and see what you can find on her?" Reigns asked.

"What exactly am I looking for?" Hunter asked.

"Anything in her life that might be a reason for someone to want to hurt her, anyone connected to her, her family, her job, anything." Roman said.

"How are you mixed up in this?" Hunter asked.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Can you just look into it for me?"

"I will." Hunter sighed. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"I just need anything you can find on this girl." Roman said.

"I will get in touch with you as soon as I can." Hunter assured him. "But I am going to insist on an explanation for this eventually."

Roman nodded and stood up. "Thank you." He said and Hunter nodded.

0830hours

Dean became aware of sunlight on his face. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down to see Rori asleep on his chest. He realized they must've fallen asleep while watching movies the night before. He looked down and saw she was resting peacefully. He hated to wake her. He looked at the clock and realized it was 8:30.

Seth walked in. "Morning sleeping beauty…no wait she is still asleep." He snickered.

"Real funny, we fell asleep watching movies last night." Dean said.

"Maybe I should watch movies with her tonight." Seth smirked.

Dean rolled his eyes at Seth. Rori started to stir. She opened her eyes and realized she was lying on Dean. She sat up quickly.

"I'm sorry. I must've fallen asleep on you." She blushed.

"Don't worry about it; you're the cutest date I ever seen with Dean." Seth chuckled. Dean flipped him off.

"It's nothing Rori, I am just glad you got some rest." Dean assured her.

"Last night was a lot of fun. Thank you so much." Rori smiled at him.

"No problem." Dean shrugged. "You want some breakfast?"

She nodded.

"I'll fix us something." Dean stood up.

"I'm gonna go shower while you do that." She stood up and walked out of the room.

Seth looked at her smirking then looked at Dean. "You're certainly taking good care of her."

"Roman assigned me to look after her while she is here." Dean said.

"Yeah right." Seth snickered and walked into the kitchen.

Dean groaned and followed him to get breakfast started.

0900 Hours

Dean was just dishing up the food as Rori walked back in the kitchen freshly showered and dressed for the day in jeans and a sweatshirt. He smiled at her and handed her a plate.

"This is great, I am starving." She smiled and sat down at the breakfast bar.

Seth was a bit surprised; Rori hadn't eaten much since she had been there. Dean grabbed his own plate and sat down across from her.

"Seth, thank you so much for allowing me to watch some of your movies last night." She said.

"Watch all you want." Seth said.

Roman walked in from the garage.

"How did the meeting with Hunter go?" Dean asked.

Roman sat down with them at the breakfast bar. "He is going to look into Rori's case and get back to me. Maybe with his security clearances he can find something that I couldn't."

"Rori, think hard….is there anyone at all you can think of that would want to hurt you? Maybe somebody that doesn't like you for a dumb reason even?" Dean asked.

Rori shook her head. "Not that I can think of and believe me, I have been racking my brain. I don't know of anyone who is mad at me."

"You get along with your entire family?" Roman asked.

"Well I told you I got some dimwit cousins…I doubt they could pull off something like contacting the DXS, but we had a falling out a few years ago….but we haven't spoken in over three years." She said.

"What was the fight about?" Seth asked.

"It was so dumb. My mom was hosting a big family Christmas party a few years ago. My uncle and his seven kids from his two marriages were all there with their families along with my mom and me. As always at family get together events, we started taking group pictures…all my uncles kids, all his grandchildren, etc. etc….my mom was very hurt because no one asked her or me to be in any of the photos despite the fact mama is his only sister and I am his only niece." Rori said. "I got upset…I was insulted but hurting my mama….I lost my temper. I mean she was nice enough to host this party at HER house and invite all them. To make a long story short, it all blew up huge…4 of his kids against me while 3 stayed out of it."

"Hatfield's and McCoy's holiday special." Seth chuckled.

"I doubt that is enough for someone to try having you killed." Roman sighed.

"Me too. I haven't spoken to any of them since then. We even avoided each other at the funeral." Rori said.

"Got any jilted ex-boyfriends?" Seth asked.

"Well, I dated a guy for a while earlier in the year but we ended on pretty good terms. We were both busy with work so it wasn't working out and we weren't serious anyway." Rori said.

"Ever date a military guy?" Roman asked.

"I dated a guy that was kicked out of the military, but he broke up with me and looking back I am glad he did. He was a lunatic." Rori said.

"Why was he kicked out of the military?" Dean asked.

"When we first started dating he told me it was because he had gone AWOL from the marines twice. That was only half the story. About the time he split, I found out that after he went AWOL the second time the marines had him admitted to a psychiatric ward where he was diagnosed with two mental disorders…..I can't remember exactly what. The marines then gave him an other than honorable discharge." Rori said.

"Write down his name, where he lived and anything else you can remember about him. It might be nothing but checking won't hurt." Roman handed her a pen.

"Why the fuck were you dating a guy like that?" Dean asked as Rori started writing.

"When we first started dating he treated me great, acted like I was the only woman in the world. Towards the end….I think his mental disorders were affecting him…he wasn't in counseling or taking any meds and he started acting….strange. I haven't heard from him in years." Rori said.

"Damn…you need a brother to put the fear of God into guys like that for you." Seth said.

Rori laughed and handed what she had written to Roman.

1300 Hours

Dean sat watching some mindless talk show. Rori looked out the window from the game room. Roman was working to see what he could find on the boyfriend Rori had mentioned earlier and Seth had gone to stake out Rori's house to see if anyone out of place was coming and going from there.

"You okay?" Dean asked her.

"Yeah, I am just going a little stir crazy. I understand that I have to be here right now, it's just hard being in one place for so long." Rori gave a small smile.

"We're working on it. We're gonna get you home as soon as we can." Dean assured her.

"I know." She nodded.

"Why don't you know how to handle a gun?" Dean asked.

"What?" she looked over at him.

"I thought people from West Virginia were born with a gun in their hand." Dean chuckled.

Rori rolled her eyes and looked at him. "That is a stereotype. I have never shot a gun, never dated a relative and have never drunk moonshine although several of my family members have made it over the years."

"Stereotypes aside, your dad was an MP in the military, even worked at the armory. And you said he was a hunter. He never taught you how to use a gun?" Dean asked.

Rori chuckled. "I am terrified of spiders, I mean petrified. If I see one and no one is around to kill it, I won't even get close to it. I will spray it with insecticide from a distance or throw things at it. Terrified, I tell you."

"What's that have to do with shooting a gun?" Dean was confused.

"Dad always refused to teach me how to shoot, saying that if I saw a spider I would try shooting it and blow a hole in the floor." She smiled.

Dean cracked up laughing. She came over and sat down beside him.

"It's not that funny." She said.

"The hell it isn't. That is so funny…shooting spiders with a gun." Dean laughed more. "Was he serious?"

"I dunno if he was serious. I think he was more afraid I would hurt myself and just used the spider excuse for humor." She shrugged.

"Come on, I'll teach you to use a gun." Dean said.

"Why?" she looked at him.

"It will make me feel better if you know how to use a gun. Like an extra insurance policy besides us keeping you safe." He said.

"Okay, but you will have to teach me from scratch." Rori stood up.

"No problem. But don't shoot at spiders. If you blow a hole in the floor, Roman will have a fit." Dean winked.

"I am never going to hear the end of this." Rori chuckled and followed Dean into the kitchen.

"Let me grab an extra clip and find a target." Dean said.

"You can't shoot so close to the house." She frowned.

"Nearest neighbor is half a mile. We'll be fine. Trust me." Dean assured her.

Dean came back in a few minutes and motioned for Rori to follow him outside. She walked with him off the deck and down into the yard. They walked through the yard and past the area visible from the house. Rori was shocked to find a target stand with wind flags and a sand pit.

"You have this at your home?" she stared at him.

"Part of the job. Although we usually practice with the rifles." Dean said as he tacked a paper target onto the target stand.

Rori nodded a bit in shock. Dean walked back over to her and moved her to stand 20 paces away from the target. He pulled up one of his pants legs and took a handgun out of his leg holster.

"You carry a gun on your leg?" she asked.

"All the time. Part of the job." He shrugged.

Rori stared, more shock hitting her. At times, she forgot that the three men were assassins and very deadly. But moments like reminded her of their profession and it was startling despite the circumstances.

"First you have to learn to release the safety." Dean showed her. "If the gun is not in use, always keep the safety on."

Rori nodded. Dean handed her the gun and noticed she was nervous.

"Relax; I wouldn't let you hurt yourself." Dean said. "Leave the safety on for now. To take aim, you're right-handed so use your right hand to hold the gun, put your finger on the trigger and support it with your left hand….hold the gun away from you a few feet…shoulder level."

Rori did as Dean told her. She was tense and he knew it.

"Relax a little." Dean adjusted her arms. "You're too tense, just relax."

She nodded and took a deep breath.

"Good, now to take aim see those little nubs, those are the sights….you need to line those up with your target." He told her. "Ready to try?"

"What if I do it wrong?" she asked.

"You'll do fine. I am right here." He said and handed her some earplugs. "Put those in." he said and put a pair in his own ears. "Now put it all together. Start with the safety."

Rori took a deep breath and did as Dean instructed. She switched the safety off and held the gun just as Dean told her. He watched her carefully. She used the sights to line up with the target and pulled the trigger.

"Not bad." Dean chuckled seeing her eyes go wide. "Loosen your arms a bit. You're still too tense."

Rori nodded and tried again. Dean still laughing as she looked surprised at herself.

"That's great. Take a few more shots." Dean encouraged.

Rori slowly started to relax as she took a few more shots.

"See, you are doing great. Want me to find a spider for you to aim at?" Dean laughed.

Rori rolled her eyes as she continued her target practice under Dean's supervision.

_**Author's Note- **__Special thanks to PL-LovesDAandSPNForever946 and Rhianna for great reviews. Yes, Seth was singing from the Lion King in the last chapter. This chapter is sort of a two part chapter, with part two coming very soon. Keep the reviews coming. _


	9. Out of the House

_(Here is part 2 of the last chapter.) _

2100 Hours

Roman walked into the kitchen to find Rori lighting a candle in the jack o lantern she had carved earlier in the week. Looking on the back deck, he could see Dean was outside smoking. He could hear Seth watching a movie in the game room.

"Rori, it wasn't your ex-boyfriend that gave the DXS false information about you." Roman said.

She looked up at him. "I didn't think it was, but what makes you so sure?"

"He committed suicide in June 2010." Roman said.

"Well, that's one more eliminated I guess." She said.

"We'll get this figured out, I promise. Just hang in there." Roman said.

"Any word from the head of the DXS?" she asked.

"Not yet but I just talked to him this morning." He said.

Dean walked in from the back deck. "What's going on?"

"It wasn't the ex-boyfriend. I am off to bed. It has been a long day." Roman said. "See you in the morning."

Roman walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. Rori sat down at the breakfast bar. Dean walked to the hall closet and came back after a few minutes putting on his leather jacket.

"Get your jacket, we're going out." Dean said.

"Where? I can't be seen out in public." Rori said.

"I know you're going crazy being stuck here so I am taking you out for a bit. No one will see you. Trust me." Dean said.

"Will I be safe?" she asked.

Dean pulled aside his jacket to show he had a handgun in a shoulder holster. "And I have my gun on my leg too. Trust me, you'll be safe."

Rori hurried upstairs and grabbed her jacket. She ran back downstairs and found Dean waiting for her. She followed him out to the garage where he unlocked his own car, a 2012 Challenger, the same one they had used when they brought Rori to their house. Rori climbed in the passenger seat. Dean started the car and pulled out of the garage.

Dean drove for a while taking them to a rural area. Rori was quiet and seemed to be watching the scenery. The roads were virtually empty.

"You're pretty quiet over there." Dean said.

"Just enjoying being out of the house. It feels great." She smiled. "The change of scenery is great."

"There is a lake near here, would you like to go there for a bit…relax, walk, whatever? Chances are this late it is deserted." Dean said.

"That sounds wonderful, you sure it's safe?" she asked.

"I wouldn't do anything to get you hurt." Dean promised her.

Rori was surprised to see them turn onto an unpaved road.

"Do you mind if I listen to the radio?" Rori asked.

"Go ahead." Dean chuckled.

Rori turned on the car radio and changed the station until she found a country station and left it.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What were you saying about those West Virginia stereotypes?"

"Oh hush, I love Brad Paisley. He has done our state proud." She smiled.

Dean chuckled watching her sing along with the radio. He pulled the car onto a little side road that led to the lake. He pulled up to the lake and shut off the engine.

"Wait here a minute." Dean told her.

Dean got out of the car and looked around the area. He saw and heard no one else and finally motioned to the Rori that she could get out of the car. She climbed out of the car and walked down to the lake. She smiled and looked around, feeling thrilled at being out of the house.

"This place is so quiet." She smiled.

"Glad you are enjoying being out." He said.

"It feels great. I never realized that I could go stir crazy in just a few days. I guess the stress of everything makes it more intense." She said.

Dean climbed up on the hood of his car and leaned back on the windshield. Rori climbed up next to him and leaned back on the windshield.

"Wow, the sky is so clear. Look at all those stars." She smiled.

Dean nodded and took his cigarettes out of his jacket.

"Don't do that. It'll ruin your health." Rori said.

"Heard that before." Dean said and put one in his mouth.

"Please…that's what killed my daddy." She looked over at him.

Dean sighed and put the cigarette back in the pack. She smiled and went back to looking at the stars. They both relaxed and enjoyed the quiet. Dean closed his eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet.

"Dean, can I ask you something?" Rori asked. Dean looked over at her and nodded. "How do you cope with being an assassin? How do you move on with life after killing someone?"

"Well, the DXS requires we undergo psychiatric evaluation and counseling every six months." Dean said. "But, everyone copes differently…finds an outlet for emotions and energy."

"Like what?"

"Well, Seth seems to use movies as an outlet. I am not sure why, but he seems to find peace from it." Dean said. "Roman draws. He finds it soothing and he can express a lot through his drawings. I have seen him draw everything from a beautiful sunset to old west hangings."

"What do you do to cope?" Rori asked.

"I don't have anything specific I do. But sometimes, when I am out at the mall and I see kids playing at the arcade, or I see couples on a date…I think 'maybe they are safe because of me'….may sound dumb, but it's comforting." Dean said.

"It doesn't sound dumb. It's a nice thought." She smiled at him.

"Thanks. I think you are the first person I ever told that to." He said.

"How did you get into such a job? I mean….they don't run ads in the paper saying 'assassins wanted'." Rori asked.

"Roman and I were recruited out of the military….Roman was training for the Navy Seals when the government recruited him. I wanted to train for the Rangers when the DXS approached me. Seth was training for the FBI when he was recruited." Dean said.

"So the government just….asks you 'hey you wanna be an assassin'?" she asked.

"Trust me; the government keeps close tabs on anybody in their service no matter what area it is. The DXS assassin unit recruits people with the skills, aptitude and mindset for the job. It's all pretty in depth." Dean said.

Rori nodded but didn't say anything.

"Does it bother you that I'm an assassin?" Dean asked her.

Rori turned to look at him. "No, once the initial shock wore off….you do a job that I could never understand but I don't judge you for it. It's not as if you kill people for fun. Service to one's country isn't always easy."

"You know you are the first woman I have ever talked about this with?" Dean gave a small smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah…when one of us dates a girl we just tell her that we work for DXS. If they ask too many questions we tell them we work for the international security division. Usually they don't ask too much more." Dean said.

"What about your family? What do they think you do?" she asked.

"I didn't have a good upbringing. It's why I joined the military right out of high school." Dean said.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." She said.

"It's okay." Dean told her.

They both turned back to looking at the stars. The air was chilly but neither one seemed to mind.

"Dean, thank you for bringing me out tonight. Even though it's just the two of us….it's nice." Rori looked at him.

"It is no big deal. Just trying to make this mess a little easier on you." He shrugged.

"Well I really appreciate everything you have done. You've been wonderful." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Dean looked over at her; she smiled at him. Dean leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

"What was that for?" she smiled.

"Felt like it." Dean said.

Rori leaned over and kissed Dean softly.

"Why did you do that?" Dean smirked.

"Felt like it." She winked.

Dean smiled and kissed her again, softly with no pressure. She pulled back and rested her head on his shoulder. Dean kissed her forehead as they just relaxed on the hood of his car.

2340 hours

"We should probably head back, it's getting colder." Dean said.

Rori looked up from his shoulder and nodded. She sat up and started to climb off the car. "Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you kiss me, really?" she asked.

"I like you, I like spending time with you and I wanted to. Let's just leave it at that." Dean said.

Rori nodded and walked to the passenger door and climbed in. Dean started the car and turned up the heater. He put the car in gear and headed back towards the road.

"It's nice coming to a lake in cool weather…no mosquitos." Rori chuckled.

"You starting to warm up?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Really for everything. Tonight was wonderful." She smiled.

Dean gave a small smile. "I had fun too."

**_Author's Note-_**_ Special thanks to PL-LovesDAandSPNForever946 and Icequeenxx for great reviews. The more you all review the faster I write! _


	10. Evening News

October 22nd, 0800 Hours

Roman and Seth were in the gym getting in a morning workout when Roman's cell phone went off. He climbed off the weight bench and picked it up.

"Reigns."

"Reigns, Hunter. I looked into that missing girl like you asked me to." Hunter said.

"What did you find?" Reigns asked.

"Not much. There is nothing about her in the hard copy files. On the computer there is only a basic file and it really didn't say why she was on there." Hunter said. "Why are you interested in this woman?"

"It is a long story. Are you sure that is all you could find on her?" Roman asked.

"I looked through everything. Police are investigating her case as a missing person. I called and spoke to the chief. He told me they found her car unlocked and parked in the driveway but her house was locked and nothing was disturbed. It's as if she fell off the face of the earth." Hunter said.

"Damn, I was hoping you would find something." Roman sighed.

"Look, I don't know what is going on, but don't get in over your head." Hunter warned.

"Yeah…thanks for your help." Roman said.

"When you are ready to tell me exactly what is going on, let me know and I will help any way I can." Hunter said.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you later." Roman said and hung up.

"Hunter didn't find anything?" Seth asked.

"Not a thing and he said that the only computer file on Rori was very vague and didn't even state why she was in the DXS files." Roman said.

"Damn, we are getting nowhere with this case. We can't keep Rori here forever." Seth said.

"We can't turn her loose to be murdered either. She is safe here with us." Roman said.

"You're right, but something has to give." Seth said.

"Until it does, we take care of Rori. I am thinking we may have to tell Hunter what is going on." Roman said.

"He couldn't find anything?" Dean walked in.

"No, and if someone has given the DXS assassin division false information, we really need to let him know." Roman said. "How is Rori?"

"Still asleep. I checked on her before I came down here." Dean said.

"Keep close to her. With her stubborn streak, I am worried she will do something stupid to let her family know where she is." Roman said.

Dean nodded.

1800 Hours

Seth sat down in the game room to watch the local evening news. He relaxed back against the couch. Dean and Rori walked in from cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

"Hey, is it okay if I borrow a movie? I was thinking maybe 'Pet Sematary' although the sister with the spinal condition scares me." Rori laughed.

"Sure, help yourself. And she scares me too." Seth winked. "Just let me watch the news."

"It's fine. No hurry. Maybe I will make us some popcorn." She said.

"_Our top story tonight, police are continuing to ask for anyone with information on the case of missing person Rori Collins to come forward. Miss Collins was reported missing when she failed to show up for work on October 18__th__. Police were reluctant to declare her missing; however a search of her home showed that she had not taken any items with her. Her purse was left in her car and there has been no activity on her bank account."_

The three of them looked up at the screen as the news covered a story about Rori missing. Dean watched her closely.

_ "Local authorities fear foul play as family and co-workers have stated that Miss Collins would not miss work without calling in to let someone know where she would be."_

_ "We have interviewed several people that knew Miss Collins personally and they said that she would never just leave without telling people where she was going. From our investigation she seems responsible and we can find no reason why she would've left town." An officer was interviewed._

_ "Collins' mother Carol Collins has arrived from West Virginia in an attempt to assist with the investigation into her daughter's disappearance. Mrs. Collins stated she last spoke to her daughter on October 16__th__ and nothing seemed to be wrong."_

The screen showed Carol Collins being interviewed.

"Mama…" Rori whispered.

_"When I last spoke to Rori, she said that everything was fine. She was looking forward to buying Halloween candy for trick-or-treat night. Something has to be wrong. She would never just disappear without telling me, she is not that type of person." Carol wiped tears as she was interviewed. _

Seth and Dean both felt sympathy for Carol Collins and felt helpless for the moment. Rori turned and hurried out of the room.

"Go with her. Don't let her do anything stupid while she is upset." Seth said.

Dean nodded and went to find Rori. He went into the kitchen but couldn't find her, but noticed the sliding glass door had been left open. He stepped out onto the back deck and saw Rori crouched down near the pool. As he started towards her he could hear she was sobbing. He felt his own heart hurt seeing her in pain.

"Rori…calm down." He crouched down beside her.

"Mama….she's…." Rori tried to talk but was sobbing and starting to cough.

"Baby, you gotta breathe, you're having an anxiety attack." Dean rubbed her back.

"….can't…." she coughed and sobbed more.

Dean reached under her arms and helped her up and to one of the deck chairs. "Put your head between your knees and calm down….you have to breathe." Dean sat down in the chair next to her and rubbed her back. "Come on, breathe…in and out…..breathe baby, you have to breathe."

Slowly Rori started to calm down. Dean rubbed her back and kept trying to calm her down.

"Dean, I can't do this anymore. You saw my mama…she's hurting. She's scared." Rori finally got out.

"I know seeing your mom hurting is rough. I know you don't want to cause her pain. But wouldn't it hurt her more if you go back home and someone kills you? We need you here until we can guarantee you're safe." Dean said.

"Can't we do something to let her know what is going on? To tell her I am safe I am just in protective custody?" Rori looked up at him, tear streaks down her face.

"We can't risk it. I know you're hurting and I'm sorry." He pulled her against him.

"Dean, I don't know if I can do this." She said.

"Yes you can. You're stronger than you think." He held her tight. "Sometimes you just have to be brave and do the tough thing."

Rori nodded.

"Come on, let's go inside. You need to rest and calm down." Dean helped her stand up.

Dean kept his arm around her and walked with her across the yard and up the deck steps. When they stepped into the kitchen, Seth and Roman were both waiting giving them a concerned look.

"She's gonna be okay, she is just upset." Dean said. "I'm gonna take her upstairs. Roman, get her a sedative."

"I don't want that." Rori said.

"You need one, it will help you relax and sleep. You need it." Roman said.

"Please, we don't want you getting sick." Seth said.

"Okay." Rori nodded.

"Take her on upstairs, I'll be right up." Roman said.

Dean walked with Rori up the stairs and down the hall to her room. "Go on in and change into your pajamas. I'll be in when you're finished."

Rori nodded and walked into the guest room. Dean stood outside the door waiting for her to change clothes. After a few minutes Rori opened the door and Dean walked in.

"Come on, get into bed." Dean said.

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Rori asked.

Dean nodded. Rori pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. Dean sat down on the empty side of the bed beside her. Roman walked in with a bottle of water.

"Here, take this." Roman said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Lunestra….I have a prescription for occasional insomnia." Roman said.

Rori nodded and took the pill. Roman sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You gonna be okay?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, I just feel…jittery." She said. "I know it's my nerves."

"It's early but the extra rest will do you good." Roman said. "I promise, we're gonna get you home as soon as we can."

Rori sat up and hugged Roman, startling him for a moment but he hugged her back.

"I trust you." She assured him.

"Get some rest." Roman stood up.

Roman walked out of the room. Rori lay back down on the bed and reached for Dean's hand.

"Tell me a story. Something to distract my mind." She said.

"Ummmm, I don't know any stories. Tell me one." Dean said.

"About what?" she looked up at him.

"Ummmm, you like ghost stories…you told us that crazy Mamie Truman one." Dean chuckled.

"That's Mamie Thurman." She said.

"West Virginia got any other ghost stories?" Dean asked, hoping talking about her home would comfort her.

"You ever heard of the mothman?" she asked.

"No, tell me about the mothman." Dean smiled.

"Well, it all started in 1966. People in Point Pleasant, West Virginia and directly across the Ohio River in Kanauga, Ohio began reporting seeing a large winged creature. They said it was as big as a man with glowing red eyes. It was supposedly seen at night and during the day. There were tons of theories what it could be…everything from a mutant bird to a UFO." She chuckled.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"The sightings went on for a year, and during that year a lot of local farmers reported finding their cattle dead…blood drained out of them. There is no known animal that would just drink the blood of a cow…I mean you get weasels that will just drink the blood of fowl…but not a cow! The whole thing would've probably been chalked up to mistakenly identified animals or mass hysteria, but in December 1967, the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River collapsed." Rori said.

"What does a bridge collapse have to do with a…ghost or whatever?" Dean asked.

Rori yawned. "46 people were killed when the bridge collapsed. It was full of holiday traffic when the bridge went down and of course that time of year the river was extremely cold. The theory or whatever came about that the mothman was trying to warn people of the disaster that was coming. And to be fair, the creature whatever it was, was never reported in the area again after the bridge collapsed."

"And what do you think it was?" Dean asked.

"I dunno….a winged creature….disaster striking…maybe an angel." She closed her eyes.

Dean smiled and sat quietly so she could fall asleep. Slowly her breathing started to even out. When Dean was sure she was asleep, he gently laid her hand back on the bed. He stood up and smoothed the covers around her. He turned out the lights and quietly left her room.

He went downstairs and found Seth and Roman in the kitchen. Dean grabbed a beer out of the fridge. He sat down at the breakfast bar beside Seth.

"She okay?" Seth asked.

Dean nodded. "She is asleep. I think she is calmer. I let her tell me some crazy West Virginia ghost story."

"What are we gonna do?" Seth asked.

"We gotta do something. Rori is suffering from worrying about her mom. And her mom is obviously going through hell." Dean said.

"This case is so frustrating." Seth sighed.

"Tomorrow, I am gonna sit down with Rori and go through her life back to her childhood. I want the names of anyone she has ever known. Someone has to have targeted her for a reason." Roman said.

"What if that doesn't work?" Seth asked.

"Then I am getting Hunter involved." Roman said.

"I need a cigarette." Dean stood up and took his beer onto the back deck.

"He really cares about her." Seth said.

"Yeah, he is definitely developing feelings for her." Roman said.

"Is that smart?" Seth asked.

"I don't think it matters at this point." Roman said. "I just hope he knows what he is doing."

_**Author's Note- **__Special thanks to Icequeenxx and kimberlyn for reviews. Reviews help me to update faster so keep them coming. I get inspired when I know people are reading! _


	11. Hard Questions

"_She okay?" Seth asked. _

_ Dean nodded. "She is asleep. I think she is calmer. I let her tell me some crazy West Virginia ghost story."_

_ "What are we gonna do?" Seth asked. _

_ "We gotta do something. Rori is suffering from worrying about her mom. And her mom is obviously going through hell." Dean said._

_ "This case is so frustrating." Seth sighed. _

_ "Tomorrow, I am gonna sit down with Rori and go through her life back to her childhood. I want the names of anyone she has ever known. Someone has to have targeted her for a reason." Roman said. _

_ "What if that doesn't work?" Seth asked. _

_ "Then I am getting Hunter involved." Roman said. _

_ "I need a cigarette." Dean stood up and took his beer onto the back deck._

_ "He really cares about her." Seth said. _

_ "Yeah, he is definitely developing feelings for her." Roman said. _

_ "Is that smart?" Seth asked. _

_ "I don't think it matters at this point." Roman said. "I just hope he knows what he is doing."_

October 23rd 0100 Hours

Rori woke up and looked around her room. She was alone. She remembered being upset and Roman giving her something to help her sleep. She remembered seeing her mom on the news. She sighed and sat up. Glancing at the clock she saw it was 1AM.

She climbed out of bed and slowly opened her bedroom door. She walked down the hallway and around the corner.

She knocked on the door to Dean's room. "Dean?" she walked into the room. She could see Dean was in bed asleep. "Dean?"

She hesitated to startle him, fearing he might sleep with a gun under his pillow or near the bed.

"Dean?" she spoke louder.

"Rori…what's wrong?" Dean opened his eyes.

"Would you mind if I stayed with you?" she asked.

"Of course, come on." Dean pulled back the covers.

Rori climbed into bed beside Dean. He wrapped an arm around her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you." She lifted her head and kissed his cheek.

"It's going to be okay. I promise you." Dean said. "Try not to worry."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Goodnight, Dean."

"You can call me Jon." He said.

"Jon?" she looked up at him.

"Dean Ambrose is the identity the DXS gave me. Helps to keep our true identities secret." He explained. "My real name is Jonathan Good. You can call me Jon."

"Wow…..is that why Roman called Seth 'Lopez' the night you brought me here?" she asked.

"Yeah, Seth's real last name is Lopez." He said.

"I think I understand." She said, surprising herself. She laid her head back on his shoulder. "Goodnight Jon."

0815 Hours

Seth walked into the gym to find Dean jogging on the treadmill. Dean looked up at him when he walked in.

"Where is Rori?" Seth asked.

"Still asleep. I needed to work out." Dean said.

"How is she?" Seth climbed on the rowing machine.

"She has calmed down. I think sleeping did her good." He said.

"You are taking really good care of her." Seth said watching for Dean's reaction.

"Roman assigned me to look after her. And she is having a rough time right now." Dean shrugged.

"Right, and Mickey Rourke faked those scenes in 'Wild Orchid'." Seth rolled his eyes. "By the way, looks like it might rain today."

Dean shook his head and shut off the treadmill. "I gotta go shower."

Dean left the gym and walked through the house. He stepped in the kitchen and saw Rori making breakfast.

"How you feeling?" he asked.

"Better, thank you for everything." She smiled. "You want some breakfast?"

"Sure, just make me some of whatever you are having." Dean said. "I'm gonna grab a quick shower."

"Breakfast will be ready when you're done." She kissed his cheek.

Dean chuckled and walked upstairs to shower. Rori turned back to the stove, checking on the bacon. She looked up to see Roman walk in the room.

"Rori, how are you this morning?" Roman asked.

"I feel better. I can't believe I slept so long." She said.

"Intense emotions like that will wear you out. I knew you would need the extra rest." Roman said.

"Thank you for looking out for me." She said. "I know this isn't easy on you guys either and you're taking on a huge task to keep me safe and find out what's really going on."

"After breakfast I need you to sit down with me. You're going to need to go over the names of anyone and everyone you can think of." Roman said.

Rori sighed. "Roman, I don't think it will do any good."

"We're gonna try it anyway." Roman said.

Rori nodded and finished fixing breakfast. Dean came back downstairs having finished his shower. She dished up food for the two of them and sat down with him at the breakfast bar.

"Roman wants to go over my entire life history today." Rori sighed.

"It'll be okay. I know it may not seem like it is important but you never know what might help us get this all figured out." Dean said.

"I suppose so." She shrugged.

"Finish your breakfast. It may take a while to get everything sorted out with Roman." He told her.

Rori nodded. She finished eating in silence and went upstairs to shower and get ready for the day.

Dean finished putting the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and sat down to wait for Rori. He wanted to stay with her while she talked to Roman. He could see she was not looking forward to going over her entire past with Roman as she fully believed no one in her life or past would harm her.

1000 hours

Rori came downstairs from her shower and getting dressed. Roman and Dean were waiting for her at the breakfast bar and Seth was fixing himself a snack. She sat down at the breakfast bar beside Dean.

"Okay Roman, what do you need to know?" she asked.

"Start by writing down the names of your cousins, their spouses, aunts, uncles, any relative you have. List all your friends and their spouses and family. Anyone from college you are in touch with. Anyone from high school you still speak to." Roman handed her a notebook.

"This could take a while." She said.

"While you write, tell me about the Buffalo Creek flood." Roman said.

"What? Why?" she looked up at him.

"It was mentioned in your file. It was supposedly what started you not trusting the US government." Roman said.

"That is insane. That disaster happened years before I was born." Rori said.

"I know that….how did your parents feel about it? Would anyone have a reason to go after them over something involving that flood…or go after any of your family members? There has to be a reason why that event was mentioned in your file." Roman said.

"Not that I am aware of. My parents didn't live in an area that was affected by the flood. Of course they knew people who were killed and knew people that lost homes and property. And yeah my parents never said a nice word about Arch Moore who was the governor at the time, but they never had ideas about overthrowing the government and as far as I know had no enemies." Rori said as she wrote down names. "But Arch Moore's true colors came out anyway…when I was a kid he was found guilty on felony charges. A lot of people felt that was karma getting him back."

"How does your family feel about Senator Mantin? I mean you were being accused of wanting to kill him." Roman asked.

"Daddy loved him when he was our governor before he died. Mom and I both adore him. And as far as my cousins and such….I dunno." Rori continued writing.

"You sure?" Roman pressed.

"I dunno. I got a few cousins that were annoyed at Senator Mantin over gun control issues, but other than that, I have no idea about their politics." She kept writing.

"You open with people about how you feel about the senator?" Roman asked.

"What does that matter?" she looked up.

"Trying to cover all bases." Roman said.

"It's not as if I go around with an 'I heart Mantin' shirt on. But I do adore him. I think he is great. The way he grieved with the people of West Virginia during the Sago Mine Disaster and that fiasco 'miscommunication'. I just felt like he cared and loved the state and….the feeling never left." She kept writing.

Roman sighed, realizing there wasn't a lot to go on. Rori handed him the notebook back.

"That is everyone I can think of….family, neighbors, friends, I even wrote down my dentist, doctor and gynecologist." She said.

"You sure no one is mad at you?" Roman said.

"If someone is, I am not aware of it." Rori said.

"I gotta ask some hard questions, please don't take this wrong." Roman said.

"What is there left to ask? You probably know my shoe size at this point!" Rori said.

"Do you have any gambling debts?" Roman asked.

"No, I don't gamble. I don't even play the lottery." She said.

"Have you ever used drugs?" Roman asked.

"No, and that is pushing it." Rori glared.

"Baby, he has to ask the hard questions." Dean said.

"Have you ever been involved with a married man?" Roman asked.

"No, what would I want with a cheater?" she asked.

"Have you ever been involved in a lesbian affair?" Roman asked.

"What the fuck?" Rori jumped off her seat.

"Rori, calm down." Dean said.

"No, I have never dated women. Let me make this simple…..I am boring. I have never done drugs, gambled, broke up marriages, dated women, frequented prostitutes, cheated on my taxes or anything that could cause a problem. I'm plain and ordinary…I go to work, I go to the gym, I shop at the mall …just regular old boring stuff!" Rori yelled.

"Rori, calm down." Dean started to reach for her.

"Save it Jon. I wanna be alone." She opened the sliding glass door and walked out onto the deck.

"Do you think she will leave?" Seth watched her through the window; she was walking across the yard.

"I doubt it. She is just upset." Roman sighed.

1200 Hours

Dean was on the back deck smoking while waiting and watching for Rori to come back to the house. He was sure she wouldn't leave the property but he was starting to wonder if her stubborn streak had won out over her sense of safety and she took off. Seth stepped out onto the deck.

"Where is Rori?" Seth asked.

"She hasn't come back." Dean said.

"And you haven't gone after her? You're assigned to look out for her." Seth said.

"I don't think she would leave." Dean sighed.

"You've seen how strong-willed and bullheaded she can be." Seth said.

"Fuck!" Dean sighed and sat down.

Roman stepped out on the back deck. "She come back yet?"

"Yes, but now we're playing hide and go seek." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Easy with the sarcasm. You should go to her, she needs you." Roman said.

"You heard her, she wants to be alone." Dean said.

"Dean, she is just upset. Don't take it personally. She is stressed and scared and worried and feeling so much at once." Seth said.

"I don't know how to help her!" Dean yelled.

"You must really care about her if you're this upset about her being upset." Roman said.

Dean sighed. "What should I do?"

"First find her, make sure she is safe and hasn't run off and done something stupid." Seth said.

"Then just be there for her. Let her cry, scream, laugh, tell more crazy ghost stories...whatever. Just be there for her. And if she lashes out in anger don't take it personally." Roman said.

"You know better than anyone emotions make you say things you don't mean." Seth said.

Dean nodded, well aware of his own emotional short-comings. Dean stood up and walked off the deck, heading into the direction that Rori had walked. He walked through the yard and down towards the target range.

He saw Rori sitting at the target range. She was sitting cross-legged on the ground at the firing line. He was glad to see she wasn't crying.

"Rori?" he called out to her.

She looked up. "Jon….hey."

He sat down beside her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I snapped at you. You're not the reason I am stuck here." She said.

"Don't worry about it. I know that was the anger talking." He said. "Roman had to ask you those questions."

"I know, I just lost my temper. Now that I think about it, I am not even sure why I was so mad." She said.

"Stress will make your temper flare. Don't worry about it." He told her. "And by the way, you are anything but boring."

"You think so?" she asked.

"Are you kidding? You got a temper to match your red hair. You know some of the craziest ghost stories I have ever heard. You know more about horror movies than Seth. You're smart and funny." He told her. "And you're so strong and brave to be handling all this so well."

"I'm really not." She said.

"Yes you are. Sure, you're scared and worried about your mom. But you know what you have to do and you're doing it. You're facing this head on and I am very proud of you." He wrapped an arm around her.

"Really?"

"I am. I promise you, we are going to get this fixed." He said.

She smiled and curled against him. "Would you hold me?"

He nodded and wrapped both arms around her as she buried her face in his neck. She relaxed against him.

"Feels like it's gonna rain." He told her.

"I don't mind, I like the rain." She nuzzled his neck. Dean swallowed back a moan.

They sat quietly for a long time. Dean held her, not knowing what else to do to comfort her.

"You feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah, you're great at helping me feel okay even in the midst of this chaos." She said.

Dean felt a few raindrops hit his skin.

"It's starting to rain, we should head back." Dean said.

He stood up and helped her stand up. He wrapped his arm around her as they headed back to the house. The rain started to pick up so they started walking faster.

"We're getting soaked." Rori laughed as the house came into view.

"Yeah, your hair really curls up when wet." He chuckled and brushed a few wet strands off her forehead.

"You like it?" she giggled. "You're lucky, yours doesn't curl." She gently tugged a strand of hair.

Dean leaned over and kissed her. They stopped running as Rori wrapped her arms around him. He reached behind her neck and angled her head so he could deepen the kiss, which she opened her mouth and allowed. Rori pressed herself tighter against him, making him moan lightly. He pushed her backwards, pinning her against the railing of the deck steps.

Dean released her lips and kissed along her jaw and down her neck, causing her to sigh softly.

"Dean did you….." Seth opened the sliding doors. "Never mind, you found her."

Dean and Rori separated. Seth chuckled and walked back into the house.

"We better get in the house before you catch pneumonia." Dean said.

Rori nodded and walked with Dean into the house. Seth was smirking at them in the kitchen.

"Could you grab us a few towels?" Dean rolled his eyes at Seth.

"Sure thing." Seth chuckled and hurried upstairs.

Roman walked in. "Glad you found her, did you have to try drowning her?"

"Very funny." Dean rolled his eyes as Seth walked back in with a few towels.

Rori started drying her hair. "Roman, I am sorry for getting angry at you. I know you're just doing your job."

"It's fine. You're stressed, I get that." He smiled. "Go get cleaned up."

"I'm gonna take a shower." She said.

"Yeah, I need one too." Dean said.

Rori hurried up the stairs to her room. Seth smirked as he watched Dean trying to dry off.

"What are you smirking at? I feel like I am 15 and got caught by my mom." Dean said.

_**Author's Note- **__Special thanks to alesamox, Pastel Shades, Icequeenxx for awesome reviews. Reviews help me write faster. Thanks to everyone who is reading this story. I appreciate all the support and feedback. You guys are great! _


	12. Movie Night

_Rori started drying her hair. "Roman, I am sorry for getting angry at you. I know you're just doing your job."_

_ "It's fine. You're stressed, I get that." He smiled. "Go get cleaned up."_

_ "I'm gonna take a shower." She said. _

_ "Yeah, I need one too." Dean said. _

_ Rori hurried up the stairs to her room. Seth smirked as he watched Dean trying to dry off. _

_ "What are you smirking at? I feel like I am 15 and got caught by my mom." Dean said. _

2100 Hours

Dean walked into the kitchen to find Roman drawing on his sketchpad while Seth and Rori playing some movie trivia game on Seth's iPad. Dean smiled thinking she looked adorable in lounge pants and a hoodie. He leaned against the doorframe watching her and Seth.

"I can't believe you know stuff about 'Gone with the Wind'." Rori giggled at Seth.

"It is a classic. How can you have not seen it?" Seth rolled his eyes.

"It's like the mother of all chick flicks and chick flicks make me gag." She said.

"I noticed you weren't doing well in the romantic movies category." Seth said.

"Real funny Scarlett." She teased, making Roman chuckle.

"Don't you like any chick flicks?" Seth asked.

"Well….I like 'Steel Magnolias' because it has Dolly Parton in it. And I swear that scene at the cemetery when Olympia Dukakis tells Sally Field to hit Shirley McClain could be the funniest scene in any movie ever." Rori chuckled. "And I like 'Fried Green Tomatoes'. What category does 'Brokeback Mountain' fall into?"

"You watched that?" Seth laughed.

"Hells yes. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, that is two gorgeous men, I don't care what the movie was about." Rori giggled.

"You watched that but never saw 'Titanic'?" Seth asked.

"I am not gonna sit for three hours watching a boat sink." She insisted.

"It's not all a boat sinking, there is a love story." Seth said.

"Exactly, a chick flick." She said.

Roman laughed at her antics. Dean walked into kitchen. Rori smiled when she saw him walk towards her.

"Can I steal Rori for a little while?" Dean chuckled.

"Sure, he is killing me because I don't watch chick flicks." Rori laughed.

"Come on, got a surprise for you." Dean said.

Rori nodded and climbed off her stool and walked with Dean out of the kitchen towards the game room. Roman watched them go with a raised eyebrow. When Rori walked into the game room she saw snacks set up on the coffee table and the Friday the 13th movies on the end table.

"What is all this?" she asked.

"You enjoyed our movie night the other night and it's still October…thought you might enjoy watching the Friday the 13th series with me tonight." Dean told her.

"You keep that sweet side of you well hidden, don't you?" she giggled. "That sounds fun."

Dean put the first movie in and sat down next to Rori on the couch. Rori grabbed a soda and a bag of chips.

"I don't think anybody in these movies that had sex survived." Rori said.

"Isn't that like a joke…if you have sex in a horror movie you die…only the virgins live?" Dean chuckled.

"Yeah, that is one of the 'rules' of horror movies." She said.

Dean wrapped his arm around her as the movie played on.

October 24th, 0130 Hours

The third movie in the series was wrapping up as Dean and Rori watched. Dean was leaning back against the arm of the couch with Rori snuggled on his chest. Roman and Seth had gone to bed earlier, leaving them the only ones awake in the house.

"If Jason is dead at the end of this movie, how did they do like 10 more movies?" Dean asked her.

"He's not really dead. You see that at the beginning of the 4th movie. Actually this movie was originally supposed to be the end of the series, but you know Hollywood." She said.

"It's kinda cute that you know all this about horror movies." Dean chuckled.

"I am glad you think so." She chuckled and looked up at him.

He turned his face toward hers. She moved her face closer and they kissed. Just short kiss. Rori smiled at him. Dean wrapped both arms around her and pressed their bodies together. Their mouths met in a kiss again. Dean traced his tongue along her lips and she gladly let him in, their tongues moving along each other's.

Dean pulled back and stroked her hair away from her face. "You're so beautiful." He whispered.

Dean held her head with his hand and kissed her again. They pressed their mouths together in a passionate, tongue filled kiss that seemed to go on forever. He moved his hands to her hips, pulling Rori against him. She could feel him growing hard against her.

Dean slipped his hand under the edge of her hoodie and rubbed the warm skin of her lower back. She sucked his lower lip and gently nibbled on it, causing him to moan. He gently pulled back.

"Baby, we should stop." Dean said, not wanting to push her too fast.

She nodded and sat up. "You're right." She said, starting to worry how fast she was falling for Dean.

"Come on, I will walk you to your room." Dean sat up.

Rori nodded and followed Dean out of the room and upstairs. They stopped outside the door to her bedroom.

"You want to finish watching the series tomorrow?" Dean asked.

She nodded and chuckled. "This feels like you're dropping me off after a date."

"Should I ask you to prom and give you my high school ring?" he chuckled.

She laughed and leaned in to kiss him goodnight. Dean wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. He kissed her hard and pinned her against the door. He realized if he didn't pull back they would end up in bed. He slowly pulled back.

"Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." He said.

"Goodnight Jon." She said and walked into her room.

0300 hours

Rori had changed into silk pajamas after saying goodnight to Dean. She sat on her bed thinking about what she was feeling towards him. She knew she was falling for him and fast, but worried it was too much too fast. She leaned back against the headboard and sighed.

She smiled a bit thinking of how well Dean had taken care of her since she had been with the three men. He had gone out of his way to make sure she was comfortable and tried his best to keep her happy despite the circumstances. And she smiled remembering how dedicated Dean was to keeping her safe, even teaching her how to shoot.

Rori took a deep breath deciding to embrace her feelings for Dean rather than be afraid of them. She felt something very special for Dean and rather than worry about it, she was going to go with it.

Rori climbed off the bed and quietly walked out of her room. She quietly walked down the hall and around the corner to Dean's room. She knocked on the door and slowly opened it. Inside she could see Dean asleep on the bed. She slowly walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Jon?" she sat down on the bed beside him. "Jon?"

Jon opened his eyes. "Rori, what is it?"

"I just wanted to stay with you." She leaned forward and gently kissed him.

Dean sat up in bed. "Baby, do you know what you're suggesting?"

She nodded and took his hand. "I do, but I want to be safe…..you been tested regularly?"

"Yes, I'm clean." Dean told her. "What about birth control? You have been here where you couldn't take your pills?"

"I'm not on the pill. I have the implant in my arm." She said. "And I am clean too."

Dean smiled and leaned over to kiss her. As their lips met again, slowly Dean began to undo the buttons on the front of Rori's silk PJ top, exposing the flesh beneath. Much to Rori's delight, Dean leaned down and kissed each bit of skin as it became visible.

Finally, the last button undone, the material fell by the wayside as Dean unclasped her bra. Running the tips of his fingers across the nipples, squeezing the hard nipples between them, Dean produced a soft and pleasing moan from Rori. His fingers glided downward until he could cup each mound, then lifted each just a bit, dropping his head at the same time until both met somewhere in the middle. Then, after teasing them for just a moment with his tongue, Dean took the closest nipple, and as much of the flesh around it as he could manage, deep into his mouth.

"Oh yes," Rori called out, delighting in the warmth of the wetness now wrapped around her.

Rori pressed more of her flesh into Dean's mouth. His darting tongue caressed the sensitive flesh, even as his teeth added just a twinge of hardness to the mix. The combination, repeated back and forth between each breast, was beginning to drive Rori wild.

They quickly developed a rhythm, trading kisses on mouth and flesh. Climbing out of their sitting position, they stretched out on the bed, with Rori on the bottom as Dean climbed on top of her. Starting again at the top, Dean began to work his way down Rori's body, marking his way with the soft touch of his hands and the even softer touch of his lips. Each was rewarded by a pleasing sigh from Rori as they hit all the most sensitive areas.

"Fuck," Dean grinned as he paused for a moment, "You are so beautiful."

Down across her stomach he went, his tongue producing even more sighs from Rori as it curled around, then tickled the inside of her belly button. Dean sat up and pulled her silk PJ bottoms off and tossed them off the side of the bed. Reaching the still covered center between her legs, Dean paused just long enough to kiss the center of the dark stain on cloth

"Turn over," Dean said.

As Rori did so, Dean started from the bottom, working his way up her legs until he reached the barely covered cheeks of her ass. Outstretched fingers traced the outline of her panties, which sent the loudest moan of satisfaction yet spilling from Rori's lips. The erotic feeling from Dean's fingers continued up Rori's lower and upper back, again accented by the soft wetness of his mouth. Finally, Dean reached the back of her neck. He covered it too with kisses, then he tilted Rori's head just enough so that he could kiss her.

Leaning Rori back on the bed, Dean gently stroked his fingers across her breasts, running his middle finger across the valley between. He kissed each softly, taking the nipples in his mouth and swirling his tongue around them. He hooked his fingers in her panties and slid them down her legs.

"Lay back baby. I am gonna take you long and deep." Dean whispered.

He quickly pulled off his boxers. Lying back on the bed, Rori spread her legs as Dean moved between them. Dean pressed the head against the opening of Rori's vagina and ran it up and down. Then, with a slow, deliberate move, he pressed forward and into Rori.

"Oh wow," Rori gasped as she felt him fill he.

"Just relax," Dean said as he slowly eased the cockhead in and out of Rori, letting her get even more used to him. Dean smiled as he eased deeper into Rori.

Dean began to slip into Rori with an ever increasing pace, the full length of him now disappearing within her. Dean braced himself with outstretched arms, continuing to pick up his tempo, even as Rori felt her body beginning to respond to each push forward with one of her own to meet it. Her hands came up to Dean's body, closing around his neck.

"Wrap your legs around me." He whispered.

Rori lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist as he nearly doubled the force of his thrusts. An increase that was loudly encouraged by Rori. The tiny shivers that been rippling across her body were quickly growing into large tremors, centering in the core of her being.

"Deeper, harder!" she whimpered.

A challenge Dean was quite willing to take on as Dean arched back and began even deeper penetrations, pulling nearly all the way out before driving forward once more with all the force he could bring. Both were hurling towards orgasm.

Beads of sweat ran down both their backs as Dean and Rori again changed position, with Dean now lying atop her as she wrapped her legs around his ass, holding them together. Their mouths were now close enough to kiss and they did so again and again. Soon they were close enough to the edge for both of them to feel it.

"Fuck…baby gonna cum." Dean moaned.

He slid a finger between them and rubbed her clit just a few times before she screamed and clamped around him, sending him over the edge as well. Dean came deep inside her.

As he calmed down he looked down at her, she was trying to catch her breath and was flushed. He leaned down and kissed her softly then gently pulled out of her. Dean moved to lie beside her and pulled her against him.

"You okay?" he kissed her forehead.

"Wonderful." She smiled.

Dean pulled the covers up around them and spooned behind Rori. He nuzzled against her neck and closed his eyes. He let her breathing lull him to sleep.

_**Author's Note- **__Loving the reviews. Thank you Pastel Shades, Rossi's Lil Devil for reviews on the last chapter. Thank you Cookie D, Icequeenxx, PL-LovesDAandSPNForver946, Pastel Shades, Alesamox, Lovethemafia, and prettybaby69 for following my story. I appreciate all the support and love my readers. Thanks so much! _


	13. More Help Needed

_ As he calmed down he looked down at her, she was trying to catch her breath and was flushed. He leaned down and kissed her softly then gently pulled out of her. Dean moved to lie beside her and pulled her against him. _

_ "You okay?" he kissed her forehead. _

_ "Wonderful." She smiled. _

_ Dean pulled the covers up around them and spooned behind Rori. He nuzzled against her neck and closed his eyes. He let her breathing lull him to sleep. _

0900 Hours

Roman sat at the breakfast bar reading the morning paper as Seth came into the kitchen yawning. He reached for a mug to pour himself some coffee.

"You're up late…then again I haven't seen Dean or Rori this morning either." Roman said.

"They spent the night together last night." Seth gave Roman a meaningful look. "They woke me up at one point."

"He really likes her." Roman chuckled. "I hope he knows what he is doing."

"Well he did last night, if her response was any indication." Seth chuckled.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Well I am getting nowhere with the names that Rori gave me yesterday. We need Hunter."

"Think Dean will agree to that?" Seth asked.

"We don't have much of a choice." Roman said.

Seth sat down at the breakfast bar with his coffee. "I hope we can work this out soon. She is having a tough time."

"I am wondering how soon it will be before AJ assigns us another target. We could be in over our heads if we get another assignment before we figure out Rori's case." Roman said.

"Well we have to make sure she is safe." Seth said.

"We will, I know how fond you have grown of her." Roman smirked. "She's like your movie mate."

"Oh you like her too." Seth said. "You really think Hunter can help?"

"We're running out of options. And we can't keep her here forever." Roman sighed.

Dean walked in wearing sweatpants. He went to get a cup of coffee.

"There is our Romeo…where is your redheaded Juliet?" Seth smiled.

"Showering, she will be down in a bit." Dean said.

"Can she still walk?" Seth snickered.

Dean flipped him off.

"Dean, we need to get Hunter on board with us. I am getting nowhere with the names that Rori gave me yesterday." Roman said.

"Call him. The sooner this is all settled, the happier Rori will be." Dean said.

"I'll see if he can meet us here later today. We need him to come alone. I trust him." Roman said.

1500 Hours

Rori sat in the living room, nervously waiting for Hunter to arrive. Roman had explained to her that he wanted to get the head of the assassin division involved in her case. She trusted Roman to do what was best for her but was nervous about meeting this man. She didn't know what to expect.

Dean walked in and saw Rori sitting on the couch and looking upset. He walked over and sat down beside her. She reached over and took her hand.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked her.

"Just nervous….I don't know what to expect from this guy that is coming." She said.

"I promise, everything will be okay. We trust Hunter; he is a great guy and one of the best at the DXS. He isn't head of the assassin division for nothing." Dean told her. "We will help us get this all straightened out. You may be home in time to give out candy to trick or treaters."

Rori smiled and curled up against Dean. He wrapped his arm around her.

Meanwhile in the driveway, Roman was waiting for Hunter to arrive. He was going to make sure that Hunter was alone before he let him see or talk to Rori. He had kept Rori safe too long to risk her life now. He trusted Hunter, but was wary of anyone else at this point.

Finally he saw Hunter pulling up the driveway in a company car. Hunter stepped out of the car and Roman looked around.

"You come alone?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, you wanna tell me what this is all about?" Hunter asked.

"Come in the house. It's complicated." Roman said and headed up the driveway with Hunter following behind him.

They walked into the house where Seth was waiting for them in the kitchen.

"Hunter, have a seat. Ambrose, Hunter's here and alone." Roman called out.

Rori looked at Dean. "It'll be fine." He kissed her forehead.

Dean stood up and helped Rori off the couch. The two of them walked into the kitchen and Hunter looked up at them.

"This explains your interest in a missing person's case. I had a feeling you were in deep with that case. Now what exactly is going on?" Hunter asked, only half surprised to see Rori standing there.

Dean nudged Rori to sit down and he sat down beside her across from Hunter. Roman sat down with them and began explaining everything to Hunter. Roman left out nothing, explaining the whole situation from being assigned to assassinate Rori and the accusations against her, their doubts about her guilt, the decision to take her into protective custody and the failed attempts to figure out who had given bad Intel to the DXS and wanted Rori dead.

"This doesn't make any sense, DXS Intel is very thorough. But I am glad you didn't hurt her." Hunter said. "Did you try talking to AJ about this?"

"Several times but she fully believes the Intel and wanted the job done. We haven't told her that we have Rori, we wanted proof of her innocence first." Roman said.

"Let me see her file." Hunter said.

Seth handed Hunter the file they had on Rori. Hunter opened it and immediately frowned. "This file is sparse and virtually incomplete. What the hell is AJ thinking?"

"Do you think you can find out what is going on?" Rori spoke up.

"I don't know where to start." Hunter sighed.

"I have a list of names Rori gave me yesterday of people in her life. I haven't finished researching everyone yet." Roman said.

"Give me the list; I will see what I can find." Hunter said. "Miss Collins, do you have any idea at all who would want to hurt you?"

"No, and believe me I have racked my brain. I have thought of everyone from family and friends to customers that come in the pharmacy." She sighed.

Hunter sighed. "Okay, I am gonna look into this and call in a few favors. Someone, somewhere has to know something. I want you three to keep Rori here until you hear from me. She is safe here and you three seem to be doing a great job of taking care of her."

"Can you please hurry?" Rori asked him. "My mama thinks I am missing, possibly dead. I am all the family she has…please."

"I promise, I will do whatever I can." Hunter said.

Rori nodded. "Thank you."

"I am gonna get back to the office and get started on what I can find." Hunter said. "I'll be in touch."

"Thanks Hunter." Roman said.

"You guys did the right thing. You're not our best assassin team for nothing." Hunter said.

2355 Hours

Dean was swimming a few laps in the pool. It was cold, but felt invigorating. He wasn't going to stay too long in the cold water, but wanted to relax with a late night swim before heading to bed. Roman and Seth had gone to bed earlier, but Dean didn't feel tired yet.

He finished his last few laps and climbed out of the pool. He grabbed his towel and started drying his hair. He wrapped the towel around his waist and headed towards the deck. He climbed the stairs and was startled to see Rori sitting in the hot tub.

"Hey, what are you doing out here? I thought you were reading." Dean asked.

"I thought I would come out here and relax." She shrugged.

Dean smiled noticing she was in a blue one piece swimsuit. "What, no bikini?"

"They are sexy but not practical." She said.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Of course not."

Dean climbed in and sat down on the bench next to Rori. She smiled at him as he got comfortable. He leaned back and relaxed.

"Was the pool cold?" she asked.

"Yeah, but a good cold swim feels good now and then." Dean said.

"When are you guys gonna close the pool for winter?" she asked.

"Last year Seth fussed and kept it open until early November. I think he is part penguin, he loves swimming in cold water." He chuckled.

"Mama used to have a dog that would swim in the creek year round, even if there was ice." She laughed.

"You got any movies you want to watch tomorrow? We still need to finish the Friday the 13th series." Dean said.

"Okay…as long as we actually watch the movies." She winked.

"That's no fun." He joked.

"Well, I could make it up to you now." She moved closer to him.

Dean took Rori's face with both his hands and pulled her into a deep loving kiss. Slowly he slid his tongue into her mouth. He could feel Rori's tongue returning the favor. He then slid his hands down Rori's back and pulled her tight to him. Rori then lifted her leg and wrapped it around Dean pulling him tighter into her. Dean broke the kiss from Rori's lips and started kissing down her neck. Rori let out a deep moan, which only prompted Dean to continue. He then let his hand move forward and slide over Rori's swimsuit to fondle her breasts through her swimsuit.

Dean then slid his hand down and pushed aside the bottom of her swimsuit. Rori opened her legs slightly so Dean could move his fingers to her vagina. He then slid two fingers into and out of Rori, slowly and then deeper and deeper. Once he had his fingers all the way in, he moved them back and forth.

Rori moaned, however it was quickly muffled by Dean's mouth as he moved up and kissed her deep while moving his fingers back and forth inside Rori.

"Fuck baby….come on…cum for me." Dean whispered.

It didn't take long for Rori to cum hard. Dean held her tight while keeping his fingers deep inside Rori. He let her ride wave after wave of orgasms until she finally had enough. Dean pulled his fingers out.

"Fuck….you are so hot." he licked the side of her neck.

He knelt in front of Rori. He then pulled her swimsuit down and helped her out of it. He tossed it over the edge of the hot tub. He then lifted her to sit on the edge of the hot tub and nudged her thighs apart. Slowly he let his tongue run all over the outside of her center. Rori could feel electricity shoot through her body the instant Dean's tongue touched her.

"Jon….don't stop." she breathed.

"Fuck….gonna make you cum. You taste so fucking good." he moaned.

She leaned back gripping the edge of the Jacuzzi and opened her thighs to give him more access. Dean took full advantage and pushed his tongue deep into her. Alternating between sucking and licking, he gripped her thigh pulling her tighter against him. He then slid two fingers into her while flicking his tongue rapidly over her swollen clit. As Rori's orgasm hit her, Dean pulled his fingers out and pushed his tongue deep into her.

"Jon….I'm cumming. Oh god Jon." she screamed

At the same time he sucked hard. As one orgasm would climax Dean would coax another. Rori came two more times until Dean sensed her knees started to buckle. Dean then stood and took Rori in his arms and pulled her tight to him.

"Oh god." Rori's vision was blurry.

"Fuck that was hot baby." Dean said.

Rori smiled and reached down grabbed the elastic on Dean's board shorts. He smiled as he lifted his hips to help her get them off.

"Climb on baby…I wanna feel you ride me." Dean said.

Rori raised herself up on both knees on the bench in the hot tub, she grasped his cock and brought it to her entrance, feeling it slide into her. She carefully braced her hands on his shoulders as she began to sink on him. Rori gasped when the head slipped past her entrance. Dean's hands slipped to her hips and rested there lightly. Rori pressed up with her legs experimentally and felt him stir within her.

Rori's hips began to undulate making his cock slide in and out slightly. As the friction built she felt a spasm pass through her body, her hands grasped Dean's arms as she began to plunge wildly on his lap. A moan escaped her lips and another shudder tore through her. Dean pulled her legs up until her legs were wrapped around him as he shifted to make room, his grasp on Rori's hips became tight and without warning he thrust his hips upward. The wild thrust took Rori's breath away, but before she could recover a second and then a third followed it. Dean seemed unwilling to sit still and let Rori do all the work and soon the air was filled with the groans, grunts and moans of both of them.

Dean's eyes were barely open and his breath hissed between clenched teeth. "God, you're so sexy...Ride my cock... You're gonna make me cum!"

The words fueled Rori's passion to an even more if that was possible. His hands clamped deeply into Rori's hips. Rori's body tightened around his cock deeply in her and the first wave of an orgasm hit her. She heard Dean's voice calling out. She felt Dean stiffen and realized he was cumming too.

Rori collapsed forward onto Dean's chest and he was holding her tightly. His cock was still buried in her and she could not stop her body from quivering. When Dean's hand stroked her ass, she groaned softly. Her body was still too sensitive; even such a simple caress sent bright lights flaring into her mind. Dean helped Rori dismount. He curled next to him.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah…damn that was so amazing." she said.

"You were so fucking hot riding me like that." he said.

They relaxed and caught their breath for a bit. Dean holding Rori and rubbing her shoulders gently.

"Come on, I will help you out so we can get dried off." Dean told her.

Dean climbed out and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his hips. He helped Rori out and wrapped a towel around her.

"You staying with me tonight?" he asked.

"You hoping for round two?" she asked.

"Fuck yeah." He kissed her. "Come on." They headed into the house.

_**Author's Note-**__ Thanks for all the reviews SeritaLorenzo, Pastel Shades, Rossi's Lil Devil, PL-LovesDAandSPNForver946, alesamox, and guest. Helped inspire me to get more done quickly so keep them coming. You guys are awesome. Also thank you to Shieldlover18 for following the story. I seriously am so appreciative of all the support. _


	14. Bombshell

"_Come on, I will help you out so we can get dried off." Dean told her. _

_Dean climbed out and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his hips. He helped Rori out and wrapped a towel around her. _

_ "You staying with me tonight?" he asked._

_ "You hoping for round two?" she asked._

_ "Fuck yeah." He kissed her. "Come on." They headed into the house. _

October 25th 0800 Hours

Roman walked into the kitchen and started the coffeemaker. He was hoping that Hunter would call with good news. He shut off the house alarm and opened the sliding door to the deck. He looked over and saw clothes discarded by the Jacuzzi. He walked over to get a closer look and recognized a female swimsuit and Dean's board shorts.

"Oh to be young and in love." He chuckled and shook his head.

Seth stepped out onto the deck and noticed the discarded swim clothes. "You have got to be kidding me?"

"Ambrose strikes again." Roman chuckled.

"And more than once, I heard them in his room last night." Seth said. "Any news from Hunter?"

"Not yet. I hope he finds something useful. We are running out of options." Roman said.

"I know and I hate seeing what this is doing to Rori." Seth said.

"Dean still upstairs?" Roman asked.

"I didn't check. I was afraid I might see more of Rori than Dean would appreciate." Seth chuckled.

The phone rang. Roman hurried inside to answer it. "Reigns."

"It's Hunter. I have not found anything from those names Miss Collins came up with. I have a few people I trust trying to find out more but so far it looks like a dead end." Hunter said.

"What is our next step? We can't keep her here forever and I don't know how much longer she is gonna stay without a huge fight….she is very worried about her mother." Roman said.

"I have a suggestion to run by you…..I think we should let Miss Collins go home, put her back in her normal life and watch her closely. This may lure her accuser out. When whoever wanted her dead sees that she is alive, they might make a move and expose themselves." Hunter said.

"I will talk about it with my team and see what they think." Roman sighed.

"Let me know what you all decide. I will let you know if we find anything useful." Hunter said.

"Yeah, later." Roman hung up.

1300 Hours

"No! No fucking way! We are not putting Rori in harm's way!" Dean yelled.

Rori had gone to the gym for a workout so Seth and Roman took the opportunity to discuss Hunter's suggestion with Dean in the living room. Needless to say, Dean was not willing to go along with that plan.

"Calm down. She would be watched closely." Roman said.

"No! We have no idea who wants to hurt her or what they might do to get to her!" Dean yelled.

"Dean, you're not thinking clearly. You are too closely involved with Rori to think clearly." Seth said.

"I don't care. I will not let you put her in a position where she can be hurt!" Dean yelled.

"Don't you think we should talk to her and see what she thinks?" Seth asked.

"It does involve her." Roman said.

"Did you not fucking hear me? I said no! And I think she is too worried about her mother to make a rational choice. You mention to her anything where there is a chance she can talk to her mom and she will jump at it without thinking of the consequences." Dean said.

"He may have a point there." Seth said.

"Yeah, that is a good point." Roman sighed. "I swear I have never seen anything like this…some unknown figure wants a good person dead for no reason and we can't find a trace of them."

"We need to talk to Hunter and see what else he can come up with." Seth said.

"Yeah, we can't keep Rori here forever but we can't let her determination to contact her mother get her hurt." Dean said.

"I will call him later." Roman said.

1800 Hours

Rori walked in the game room to watch the news. Dean had been in the gym working out for a few hours. Seth and Roman knew it was because he was upset but didn't want to smoke because he knew Rori didn't like it. Rori sat down and turned on the TV; Roman walked in and sat in a chair in the room with her.

"Dean still working out?" Roman asked.

"I guess so; Seth went down to check on him." Rori shrugged.

_"Our top story tonight focuses on the continuing search for a missing local pharmacist. Rori Collins of Quantico disappeared last week, causing concern from her friends and family. Just today it was announced that John Walsh has taken an interest in Miss Collins' case after being contacted by Rori's mother. While Walsh usually gets involved with cases of missing children, he stated in a phone interview that he was moved by the plight of Carol Collins and understands the pain of having a missing child." _

Dean and Seth walked in from the gym. Dean was heavily sweating and rubbing his face with a towel.

"You guys are just in time. Rori is on the news again tonight." Roman said.

_"Today, our cameras caught up with colleagues of Rori Collins' from Express Pharmacy where she works. Here are clips from an interview with Nick Nemeth, a co-worker of Collins'."_

_ "Rori is a very sweet person. She truly cares about the people that come in here. We are all just hoping that she comes home safe very soon. It's not the same around here without her." Nick said."_

"Of all the people I work with, they interviewed Nick." Rori chuckled.

"You work with Nick? You know him?" Roman stared wide-eyed.

"Yeah, Nick is one of the other pharmacists. He is a nice enough guy. He can be kinda flirty. I have no interest in him romantically so I usually ignore his antics." Rori said.

"Besides, he got engaged recently."

"You ever met his fiancée?" Seth asked.

"A few times….I remember her name is April. She seemed pretty possessive of Nick. Anytime she was around she made a point to hang all over him." Rori shrugged. "Why?"

"Nick is engaged to our boss. That April you met…..that's her real name. In the DXS, she goes by AJ Lee." Roman explained.

"We have seen AJ with Nick and she has pictures of him in her office." Dean said.

"Wait….what? Your superior is Nick's fiancée?" Rori asked.

"Why wasn't Nick on any of the lists of names you gave me?" Roman asked.

"I am not close to Nick and when you asked for friends…I wouldn't really consider him a friend." Rori said.

"AJ is more involved in this than she should be. Something isn't right. She never told us that she had met Rori before when we met with her." Roman said.

"You think AJ has gone rogue?" Seth asked.

"We need Hunter. Something is definitely wrong and my gut is telling me AJ is involved." Roman said. "I am going to call Hunter."

Roman got up and walked out of the room. Rori turned and looked at Dean.

"Jon, I dunno what to think. Do you think Nick is involved in all this? He's a bit flirtatious but I wouldn't think he is deadly." Rori said.

"We'll get this figured out. Hunter will know what to do. He is AJ's superior." Dean said. "I am gonna shower before Hunter gets here."

Rori nodded and watched him walk out of the room.

2100 Hours

Roman was in the driveway and met Hunter as he pulled up. Hunter had agreed to meet with them when Roman called telling him there was a new development with Rori's case. Roman wanted a few minutes to speak to Hunter privately so he was waiting for him outside.

"Hunter, thanks for coming." Roman told him.

"What is going on? You decided to put Rori back in the general public?" Hunter asked.

"No, we discussed that didn't feel it was very wise. Did you see the latest news broadcast about Rori's case?" Roman asked.

"No, what is all this about?" Hunter asked.

"They interviewed Nick Nemeth…Rori works with him at the pharmacy. The same Nick that is engaged to AJ." Roman said.

"Didn't you see him when you guys were doing surveillance on Rori?" Hunter asked.

"No, he must've not been in the pharmacy the day we were in there. If Nick works with Rori, there is a connection to AJ we didn't anticipate. I think AJ knows more than she has been telling us." Roman said.

"Now hold it. AJ has never given me any reason to distrust her." Hunter said.

"I know, but this is a connection we cannot ignore." Roman insisted.

"Let me talk to Rori." Hunter sighed.

Roman nodded and headed into the house. Hunter followed him, walking into the living room where Dean and Rori were sitting on the couch while Seth sat in a nearby chair. Hunter took a seat on the coffee table in front of the couch facing Rori.

"Hi, Miss Collins, how are you holding up?" Hunter asked.

"I am okay." She smiled.

"Roman tells me you work with Nick….have you met his fiancée?" Hunter asked.

"I have met April a few times. Never really got to know her or anything." She said.

"Tell me about your interactions with her." Hunter said.

"Nothing really memorable. She has come into the pharmacy a few times to have lunch with Nick or whatever. She was at our company picnic with him over the summer. She and I have spoken a few times but nothing worthwhile. She is always with Nick…liked glued to him when she is around." Rori said.

"I think AJ is involved in the false accusations against Rori." Seth said.

"Now hold on, we have no proof of that." Hunter said.

"It makes sense. AJ knows Rori, her fiancée works with Rori." Seth said.

"What would her motive be?" Dean asked.

"Exactly, why would she want to have Rori killed?" Hunter said.

Roman sat down on the couch arm beside Rori. "Rori, when AJ…or April would be around you, how did she act? Did you two ever have a fight or something?"

"No, we never had an argument. But I never really got to know April very well. She was always strangely possessive of Nick. Like some of the things she would say…like she was trying to emphasize that Nick was with her. I found it odd because I have no interest in Nick at all, but he is flirty so I thought maybe April was insecure." Rori shrugged.

"Have you ever flirted with Nick or been involved with him?" Hunter asked.

Rori giggled. "Oh goodness no. Nick is a nice guy, but he is kinda full of himself. I like him as a co-worker…he works hard and does his job. Frankly, I never thought he was that attractive."

"Hunter, we all know AJ is obsessed in love with Nick. I think she became jealous of Rori and decided to have her killed." Roman said.

"That is insane. Rori just said she was not interested in Nick." Hunter said.

"Maybe AJ doesn't see it that way. You see obsessive women do crazy things over men all the time." Dean said.

"When was the last time you saw April?" Hunter asked Rori.

"It's been about a month or so….it was end of September. I remember because she had to wait for Nick before they could go out for the evening. Nick was giving a flu shot to someone and April had to wait for him to finish." Rori said.

"Did she act differently towards you that day?" Hunter asked.

"Not really. She was friendly and started asking me about where I was from. I figured she was just making chit-chat while waiting for Nick." Rori said.

Dean closed his eyes. "Did you happen to mention to her about the flood at Buffalo Creek?"

"Actually, I did. When I said I was from West Virginia she cracked a joke that nothing ever happens there and I mentioned big moments in West Virginia history….Hatfield's and McCoy's, Battle of Blair Mountain, Matewan Massacre, Buffalo Creek Disaster, the plane crash with the Marshall football team etc." Rori said.

"Hunter, you know you have to look into this." Roman said.

"I will. It's crazy, but I will. If nothing else I am going to ask about her sources where she got the alleged evidence against Rori." Hunter said.

"Thank you. I hope we're wrong. AJ has been part of the DXS for a long time." Roman said.

Hunter nodded. "Get me Rori's file. I want to take it with me. I will speak to AJ first thing in the morning."

"Let us know what you find out." Roman said.

"And hurry. John Walsh is getting involved in Rori's missing person case, it could get nationwide attention." Dean said.

Hunter took Rori's file. "I will. Miss Collins, thank you for your time. Is there anything else I can do for you? I know this is a hard time right now."

"Just find out what this is all about so I can go home. My mama must be frantic." She said. Dean reached over and squeezed her hand.

"I'll see myself out. Talk to you in the morning." Hunter said.

They wished him goodnight and watched as he walked out the door.

2300 Hours

After Hunter left, they each went their own way. Rori told Dean she was going to shower and headed upstairs. Dean walked into the kitchen and found Roman drawing on his sketchpad.

"Why would AJ want an innocent woman dead?" Dean asked as he got a beer out of the fridge.

"I have no idea. Although I suspect she saw Rori as a rival for Nick. You know how possessive and obsessed with him she is." Roman sighed. "Are you having a nicotine fit?"

"Yeah, I haven't smoked today…Rori doesn't like it, she lost her dad to COPD." Dean said.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "And you cut back on smoking for her? Someone call the pope, I have a miracle to report."

"It's not that big of a deal." Dean rolled his eyes. "Seth turn in already?"

"Yeah, he is upset. You know he took it hard that he almost killed Rori to start with, and now that he has pretty much adopted Rori as family….he is even more upset to find out he almost killed Rori because we were betrayed by one of our own." Roman said.

"You really think AJ is involved in this?" Dean asked.

"I do, she is involved somehow." Roman said. "How many times did we ask her for more information on Rori but she never once mentioned that she knew her….that she had met her through Nick."

"You think some skoal would help nicotine fits? I have heard of guys who quit smoking by switching to dip." He said.

"I am sure Rori would be very attracted to a guy with no lips after that stuff rots them off." Roman said. "You really like her."

Dean shrugged. "So do you and Seth."

"Yeah, but we're not having sex with her in the Jacuzzi." Roman smirked.

"I am headed to bed." Dean shook his head and walked up the stairs.

Dean walked into his bedroom and saw Rori looking out the window. She was dressed in her pajamas and her hair was damp from the shower.

"Everything okay?" Dean asked her.

"Yeah, I just didn't want to be alone." She said. She didn't tell Dean that he made her feel safe and that she wanted to be close to him. She didn't want Dean to feel rushed.

"Why don't you stay here with me?" Dean wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you, I was hoping you would let me." She smiled.

"I am beat. I am gonna grab a shower. You wanna go ahead and relax? Do you want me to take you into the library to get a book or something?" he asked her.

"No, I think I am just gonna lie down and try to unwind. I am still reeling at the thought that April is mixed up in all this." She said.

"Baby, I promise we will get this all figured out." He tightened his arms around her.

She nodded and leaned back against him.

"I am gonna get a shower. Go ahead and relax." He kissed her cheek.

Dean let go of Rori and opened a drawer to grab some underwear and sleep pants. Rori climbed into bed being sure to leave the right side free for Dean. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, the smell of Dean on the pillows soothing her.

Dean finished his shower and dressed in his bathroom. He walked out into his bedroom and smiled seeing that Rori was nearly asleep. He turned off the lights and climbed into bed with her.

"Jon?" she mumbled.

"Yeah, just getting in bed." He pulled her against him.

"Goodnight Jon." She said.

"Night." He kissed her forehead.

Dean laid in bed holding Rori for a while, just listening to her breathing even out. He rubbed her back and tried to relax. The revelations of the day had everyone feeling a gambit of emotions. He looked down at Rori and smiled.

"I promise we're gonna find out the truth." He whispered. "I promise I am gonna take care of you and make sure that you are able to go back to your life without having to worry about your safety."

_**Author's Note- **__Once again a huge thank you for all the reviews. They are so awesome and really help me with this story. Would've updated sooner but had the flu or something. But now I am back on my feet and back to writing. _


	15. Internal Investigation

October 26th 0700 Hours

Dean slowly drifted awake feeling a warm presence on his chest. He opened his eyes and looked down to see Rori sleeping on his chest. He smiled and realized he liked waking up with her in his arms. He reached out and gently brushed the hair off her forehead. She stirred a bit and slowly opened her eyes.

"Good morning." He whispered.

She smiled. "Good morning."

"You're so beautiful in the mornings." He said.

"Must be because you make me happy." She said. She moved up the bed and kissed him. "I like waking up with you."

He moved his hand behind her neck and pulled her to him. He kissed her deeply while pulling her PJ shirt off and pushing her PJ bottoms down. Rori reciprocated by undressing Dean. Soon the two were left in their undergarments. Dean kissed down Rori's chin, neck, and teased her nipples through her bra. As Rori arched her back, Dean reached under her and unclasped and removed her bra and sucked her breasts one by one while paying special attention to Rori's nipples. While still sucking her breasts he reached down and slid a finger into Rori's panties and felt her wet middle.

Slowly he made circles around her center while sliding his finger in and out and back around in slow circles. This drove Rori wild. She bucked her hips up and down to meet each stroke of Dean's finger. As her wetness grew, Dean slid two and then three fingers in. He kept his pace of sliding in and out and making soft slow circles around her clit with his thumb, all while licking and sucking her breasts and gently biting her nipples. Rori was in ecstasy. She moaned deeply into Dean's ear while lost in her build up.

"Jon…." She moaned.

Dean kissed her as he used his hands to caress Rori's arms then he moved them between their bodies so that he could caress Rori's breasts causing her to moan her approval. Dean quickly moved his mouth down to those breasts, kissing and sucking on them. Rori wrapped her legs around Dean's waist as she rubbed her center against Dean's smooth stomach.

Dean soon got the message and he kissed his way down Rori's body. When he got to Rori's center he kissed her clit and that caused Rori to cry out in pleasure.

"Oh god I want you Jon!" Rori cried out.

"You got me baby!' Dean said to her as his mouth left Rori's clit for a second then it went to Rori's slit where it started to lick her.

Rori opened her legs out wide as Dean's tongue went in deep as it licked around inside of her. Rori then felt Dean's tongue go in deep, touching her deep inside. Rori pushed her hips upwards trying to get more of Dean's tongue inside of her. He chuckled softly and pulled back for a moment.

She moaned her approval when she felt his tongue on her clit. It first moved up and down against her clit then in a circle around it. Rori felt her body tense from her building orgasm. Her clit was sensitive as Dean sucked it into his mouth. Rori cried out as her body shook from the waves of pleasure.

"Jon, I want you inside of me." Rori whispered hoarsely.

"Fuck baby, you never gotta ask twice." Dean smirked.

He got on his hands and knees over Rori. Dean bent down to kiss her, as he lowered his hips. Rori felt the head at her vagina then as Dean continued to lower his hips the cock head started to push inside her. Rori let out a loud moan as his cock filled her.

They adjusted their bodies until they were situated just right for both of them. Dean was still kissing Rori all through this and he used his tongue to teased Rori's lips and mouth.

"You ready?" Dean said as he pushed his cock in just a tad bit further.

"Oh yes." Rori cried out as she wrapped her legs around Dean's hips.

"Fuck….!" Dean said as he raised his hips up thus pulling his cock partway out then he pushed it back in hard.

"Oh yes!" Rori cried as Dean's hips began to move up and down driving his cock in and out of her.

Rori grunted and groaned as Dean thrust into her. Dean would move his hips around as he thrust into Rori allowing the head of his cock to rub against every sensitive part of her. She urged Dean on. She was moving her hips against Dean's hips so that she could increase the friction caused by his cock. Rori just cried out as Dean thrust into her hard. They were soon both sweating as their bodies met and separated. They were going at it strong as he pumped in and out of Rori.

It felt good as Dean thrust into her over and over again. Rori just kept hollering at Dean to go harder and faster. She could feel the sweat dropping off of Dean's body onto her. Dean continued until Rori exploded with an intense orgasm.

"Oh fuck…" Dean groaned as Rori's orgasm sent him over the edge and he stilled as he came. He collapsed on top of her.

"That was fucking amazing." She mumbled.

He gently pulled out of her and rolled off her. "Yeah."

DXS Headquarters, 0800 Hours

Hunter walked into AJ's office. She was already seated behind her desk working. She looked up at him as he walked in.

"Hey Hunter, what can I do for you?" she smiled.

"The Rori Collins case has been brought to my attention. You assigned Reigns' team to assassinate her." Hunter said.

"Yes, who brought this case to your attention?" she frowned.

"Someone was concerned about the Intel against Miss Collins. I looked over her file and have to admit the information seems flimsy at best." Hunter said.

"Hunter, I assure you my informant was very sure that Miss Collins was a threat. She was planning to kill Senator Mantin." AJ said.

"Why did you proceed with this case without consulting me first?" Hunter asked.

"You don't require that we consult on each case we assign. I didn't think I had time to wait. I wanted to prevent the murder of a senator." AJ said.

"I want all Intel reports and information you have on the Collins case sent to my office before noon." Hunter said.

AJ eyed him. "What is your interest in this case?"

"Right now Rori Collins is listed as a missing person and John Walsh is involved. I want to be sure we have our asses covered and this cannot blow up in our faces." Hunter said, it was half of the truth.

AJ frowned. "I will send up those reports immediately, of course."

"I'll be waiting to review them." Hunter said and left her office.

1300 Hours

Hunter sat at his desk, frowning as he looked over the Intel reports AJ had sent up to him. Each of them listed that an informant had reported that Rori was planning to murder the WV senator. But the reports were incomplete and seemed forged. There were a total of four Intel reports all from the same informant. One stated that Rori had purchased guns and explosives illegally. A second reported that Rori was planning to kill the senator. The third and fourth were reiterating the same information in the first two.

Hunter sat back and rubbed his face. The information was sketchy at best. He knew that protocol would call for the DXS to further investigate Rori and have more conclusive proof before ordering an assassination. He found it hard to believe that AJ would believe this limited Intel and order an assassination, especially without consulting him, even if it were not required. He trusted his team, and he believed that trust had been misplaced.

Hunter picked up his phone and dialed.

"Reigns." He heard on the other end.

"Roman, I spoke to AJ and….I am really thinking something was wrong." Hunter said.

"Do you think she set up Rori to be killed?" Roman asked.

"Could be. I demanded to look at the reports she had from informants and they are incomplete and seem forged. At the very least she failed to follow protocol." Hunter sighed.

"What is our next move?" Roman asked.

"We need to meet and get all the evidence together. AJ needs to be brought before the board of directors to explain her actions. We also need her to reveal who this informant is. The informant may have made false accusations against Rori. However, AJ still failed to follow protocol. I am confused as to why she was in such a hurry to have Rori assassinated with such limited information." Hunter said.

"All three of us are willing to give statements about what we know." Roman said.

"I will be over later tonight to discuss everything with you three. We need to get your statements, and I want to show you these Intel reports. How is Rori?" Hunter asked.

"She is doing okay. She and Dean are watching movies in the game room." Roman said.

"I will see you later tonight." Hunter said and hung up.

1700 Hours

Hunter arrived at the guys' home. They were going to get everything in order to take AJ before the DXS board of directors. Hunter was upset that one of his own had failed to follow protocol and possibly arranged to have an innocent person killed. He walked up to the door and it opened, Seth was apparently waiting for him.

"Roman, Dean and Rori are in the kitchen." Seth said.

Hunter nodded and headed into the kitchen, with Seth following him. Roman, Dean and Rori were all seated at the breakfast bar. Hunter sat down next to Roman.

"Miss Collins, how are you holding up?" Hunter asked.

"I am okay; I just want this over with." Rori said. "And please, call me Rori."

"What do we need to do now?" Dean asked Hunter.

"I have arranged for a special meeting with the board of directors tomorrow afternoon. AJ will be there. I want her to explain her actions why she ordered an assassination with such lousy information, why she did not have Rori investigated further and she needs to reveal which informant gave her this information against Rori." Hunter said. "I am also curious if she will admit having known Rori aside from this case."

"What if she refuses to tell?" Rori asked.

"Then the board of directors will most likely relieve her of her duties and possibly pursue charges against her." Hunter said.

"I told you earlier, all three of us are willing to testify, sign affidavits, whatever we need to do." Roman said.

"I want you three at the meeting tomorrow." Hunter said.

"We can't leave Rori here alone." Dean said.

"You have to, she is safest here. No one knows she is here and you have a security system." Hunter said.

"Can we trust you to not call your mom or anyone else and let them know what is going on?" Roman asked her.

Rori took a deep breath. "Yes, if we are this close to getting this thing figured out, I don't want to blow it now."

Dean reached over and squeezed her hand.

"I will be presenting the board with Rori's file that AJ gave you and the Intel reports that look as fake as a three dollar bill." Hunter said.

"I just don't understand why AJ did this." Dean said.

"I still think it has something to do with Nick." Seth said.

"But I am not interested in Nick, it doesn't make any sense." Rori said.

"It doesn't have to make sense. Obsessive love makes people do crazy things." Seth said.

"He has a point. How often do we see in the news women killing over a man? The ID Channel is full of them." Hunter said.

"Let's give AJ a chance to explain herself tomorrow." Roman said.

"Make sure you are there on time. I am going to present it to the board that Rori is alive and in hiding and that I was contacted to help. I am not going to reveal that you three have her, that could put her in danger." Hunter said.

"We will go with that story." Roman said.

2300 Hours

Rori and Dean were sitting in the game room watching 'Friday the 13th Part 6'. Seth and Roman had turned in for the night and Dean could tell that Rori was tired. She was anxious for this whole thing to be over.

"Baby, why don't you go on up to bed?" Dean told her. "You're tired."

"I think I will. Are you coming?" she asked.

"I'll be there in a bit." Dean said. "I need a cigarette."

Rori rolled her eyes but nodded. "Okay, I will be upstairs."

Rori kissed him quickly and stood up, walking towards the stairs. Dean shut off the movie and walked into the kitchen and out onto the back deck. He lit a cigarette and sat down in one of the deck chairs to relax.

Dean thought he heard footsteps near the garage. Dean reached down and pulled his gun out of his leg holster. He stood up quietly and made his way down the stairs. He quietly crept over to the garage and looked around the corner. He didn't see anyone. He slowly walked around until he was in front of the house and saw nothing.

He turned and hurried back to the deck and went into the house locking it up. He set the alarm and then double checked all the doors. Once he felt the house was secure he hurried up the stairs to his bedroom. He walked in and saw Rori was already in bed.

"Jon, everything okay?" she asked.

"Everything is fine." He put his gun on the night stand beside the bed.

Dean stripped down to his underwear and climbed in bed behind Rori, spooning behind her.

_**Author's Note- **__Keep the reviews coming. Last chapter didn't receive many so I hope you all enjoyed the story twists. _


	16. Board Meeting

October 27th 0700 Hours

Dean woke up and saw Rori was still snuggled up against him sleeping. He kissed her forehead and slowly slipped out of bed, not wanting to wake her up. He grabbed some clothes and walked into the bathroom connected to his bedroom. He was not looking forward to today. He had worked with AJ for a long time. He had trusted her. Even though he didn't know how guilty she was, he knew that something wasn't right.

He started the water in the shower. He checked on Rori and saw she was still sleeping. He stripped down and stepped under the water.

Rori woke up and reached for Dean. When she opened her eyes and saw that he was not there, she sat up and heard the water running. She smiled and climbed out of bed. She quickly took off her PJs and folded them, leaving them on the end of the bed. She walked into the bathroom and gently knocked on the door.

Dean looked up and smiled seeing Rori. Rori entered the shower with Dean moving back to make room.

"Thought you might like some company." Rori told him.

"You must have read my mind." Dean said reaching out for her. Rori stepped into Dean's arms letting him pull her in close.

Dean put his hand to the back of Rori's neck pulling her in to kiss her. Rori sighed, letting him kiss her and kissing him back in return. Rori got more and more aroused as she felt Dean's body rub against her. The more aroused that she got the tighter she held Dean against her and the more passionate the kisses became.

"Jon…" Rori said breathlessly as she pulled back.

"What?" Dean asked as he tried to pull Rori back to him.

"If we keep going, we'll never get cleaned." Rori told him pulling free.

Dean smirked. "We can get cleaned after we get dirty."

"Oh really?" Rori smiled.

"Oh yeah." Dean said.

"What did you have in mind?" Rori asked.

"Something like this." he said as he dropped down to his knees.

"Now you're reading my mind." Rori told him smiling.

"Oh yeah." Dean said chuckling. "Step back against the wall." Dean said as Dean placed his hand on her thighs pushing her toward the shower wall.

Rori closed her eyes letting out a sigh as she said, "You have some great ideas."

She let Dean push her against the wall. She felt Dean's hands at her feet pushing them outward and she just let him. She felt Dean's hot breath at her center.

"Oh fuck!" Rori said as she reached down grasping onto Dean's head just as Dean's mouth grasped onto her clit. "Oh Fuck!" Rori cried out as her clit was being sucked into Dean's mouth.

Dean's mouth sucking on her clit was electrifying. "Fuck that feels so good!" Rori said as she put her hands to Dean's wet hair pressing his head into her. Rori felt Dean's mouth leave her clit long enough to chuckle then she felt Dean's tongue go down to her vagina and he began to lick as the warm water ran off both of them.

"You are so fucking good at that!" Rori groaned out as she pressed Dean's face to her center.

This time Dean chuckled as he licked her. Rori opened her legs wider feeling Dean's tongue moving between her slit and his tongue going into her vagina.

"Oh god your tongue feels good!" Rori cried out.

He moved his tongue to her clit where it began to lick. Rori felt two fingers at her entrance. The fingers slowly went inside of her making her moan. Dean pushed the fingers in deep and began to finger her hard. The fingers felt so good inside her as his tongue licked hard against her sensitive clit.

"Oh fuck!" Rori cried to Dean as she pushed her hips downward toward his fingers. His fingers seem to go deeper into her as Dean fingered her hard and his tongue was lashing her clit hard and fast. Rori felt her knees began to shake as she felt an overpowering climax was starting in her body. Rori moved her hands to Dean's shoulders to hold herself up as Dean's mouth locked onto her clit sucking hard.

"Oh fuck, I'm cumming..." Rori cried out as she felt wave after wave of intense orgasm wash over her. When Rori was able to open her eyes, she saw Dean standing against her helping to hold her up.

"You with me?" he smiled.

"Jon, that was amazing." She said.

She started to reach for him, seeing he was hard but he pulled back. She frowned.

"Baby that was just for you." He stroked her cheek.

"But I want to." She said.

"Save it for tonight. Will give me something to look forward to because today is gonna be rough." Dean assured her.

1400 Hours

The guys were getting ready to leave for their meeting at DXS headquarters with the Board of Directors in which AJ would have to explain herself. Dean was nervous about leaving Rori alone but realized it had to be done.

"Okay, let's go over this one more time." Dean said to her.

Roman and Seth rolled their eyes as they had already been over this three times, but Rori just smiled. She was thrilled that Dean cared enough about her to make sure she was safe and found his urge to go over things again endearing.

"I am leaving you my cell phone. If you need ANYTHING, call Roman or Seth. If shit gets weird, dial 911 and then us. I left the address to this place written in the kitchen for you." Dean said.

Roman and Seth shared a smile.

"I am leaving a gun with you. Remember what I taught you should you need to protect yourself. We will let you know when we are coming in so anyone else, shoot to kill." Dean said. Rori nodded. "We are setting the house alarm when we leave. Stay in the house unless it is an emergency. The code is written in the kitchen as well. Do not let anyone in for any reason unless it is one of us three. You hear me, NO ONE."

"And you won't call anyone and tell them where you are?" Roman asked.

"I promise Roman. I swear, I won't." Rori said.

"We shouldn't be more than a couple hours. Do not answer the house phone. We will call you on my cell phone." Dean said. Rori nodded.

"Can we go now or do you want to take her with us and lock her in the trunk during the meeting?" Seth laughed.

Dean flipped him off.

"Okay, we're going now. You will be safe. You should be all set." Roman said.

Rori nodded. Dean leaned in and kissed her. "Remember what I said. I'll see you in a few hours." He kissed her again.

Rori watched as they walked out of the house, Roman setting the alarm before shutting the door. She sighed, not wanting them to know how nervous she was without them while they still didn't know who had made false accusations against her for sure yet.

Outside, Dean climbed in the back of the SUV while Roman drove and Seth got in the passenger seat. Roman pulled out, heading towards the DXS headquarters.

"I dunno what to think about this. AJ betraying us?" Seth said.

"Well something sure isn't right. AJ is too good at her job to have just made a mistake with this case. We have trusted her for a few years now and never had any problems." Roman said.

"I just want this over with fast. I don't like leaving Rori alone while we don't know for sure what is going on." Dean said.

Roman looked at him in the rearview mirror. "You really care about her."

"Yeah, I guess so. She is great girl. I like her and spending time with her." Dean said. "Guess I am fond of her."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Dean, you are falling for her, just admit it."

Dean didn't say anything.

"I mean really, we see how you are with her." Seth piped up.

1500 Hours, DXS Headquarters

The conference room at DXS headquarters was filled with people. Hunter sat at one end of the conference table with AJ to his right and on his left were Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins. Also seated around the table was the DXS Board of Directors: Vince McMahon, John Cena, Randy Orton, Ric Flair, Paul Heyman and Teddy Long. Hunter had provided all of them with folders of information and evidence he had compiled.

"I'd like to call to order this special meeting." Hunter began. "The reason I have called this meeting with all of you is to review the actions of April Mendez, known in the DXS as AJ Lee."

AJ sat with her arms crossed and practically scowling. Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose sat stoic, careful not to give away how involved in this case they truly were.

"The case of Rori Collins was brought to my attention. You may have heard she is currently listed as a missing person with the local police. It was brought to my attention that Rori Collins had been targeted for assassination and the assignment had been given to Reigns and his team by AJ Lee. You can see in the folders I gave you, copies of the Intel reports and information Reigns' team was given on Ms. Collins." Hunter said.

"Says here she was a threat to Senator Mantin from West Virginia…..but the information here is sparse and limited." Orton said.

"Why did you order an assassination with such limited information?" McMahon asked AJ.

"As I have explained to Hunter, she was a threat to a senator and I didn't feel we had time to waste. A senator's life was at stake, not to mention other innocent people she may hurt if she attempted to kill the senator." AJ said.

"AJ did not consult me on this case before assigning it to Reigns' and his team. If she had consulted me, I would've suggested gathering more information." Hunter said. "You will also find written and signed statements from Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose that they were unable to find any damaging evidence against Ms. Collins and when they asked AJ for any further information and expressed their concerns, AJ ordered them to carry on with the assassination under threat of disciplinary action if they failed to do so."

"Oh hell, you mean we have an innocent person's death on our hands?" Heyman asked.

"No, that is the good news in all of this. Rori Collins is in hiding. I was contacted to help investigate her case which led me to finding these abnormalities in procedure." Hunter said.

"She's alive? How is that possible? Reigns reported the mission complete." AJ yelled.

"Ms. Lee, control yourself." McMahon said. "Reigns, can you explain your false report?"

"It was with my permission that he made that false report." Hunter said, knowing he needed to keep Rori's location a secret. "I also find it very irregular that AJ did not mention to myself, Reigns or anyone else that she is personally acquainted with Ms. Collins."

"How did you find that out?" AJ yelled.

"Ms. Lee, if you will not control yourself I will have you removed from this meeting." McMahon said. "Hunter, how do you know AJ knows Ms. Collins?"

"Rori Collins is a pharmacist at the same pharmacy that AJ's fiancé Nick Nemeth works at. He was recently interviewed on the news about Ms. Collins' disappearance which furthered my concerns about AJ's actions with this case."

"AJ, I must admit that your course of actions here show a lack of judgment." McMahon said.

"I did what I felt was best to protect the life of a senator." AJ said.

"We protect the public and promote safety….that includes making sure our assassin teams take out the right people." Long said.

"That being said, we need to find out if Ms. Collins is truly a threat to Senator Mantin." Flair said.

"I have investigated this case inside and out. I have spent hours looking into her background; speaking with every informant I know and even spoke to Ms. Collins herself and these accusations are completely false. The informants I spoke to have never even heard of Rori Collins let alone what she has been accused of." Hunter said.

"But we have reports here from an informant….we will need to speak to this informant right away." Cena said.

"AJ, you need to give us the name of this informant." McMahon said.

"I will not reveal their identity. I trust their reports." AJ said.

"AJ, your actions here are highly questionable. Right now based on what we have already heard, we will have to put you on probation and possibly take further action. Now if one of your informants gave false information even unintentionally, we need to speak with them immediately." McMahon said.

"I will not reveal their identity. I don't understand why everyone is so quick to believe she is innocent." AJ said.

"AJ, Reigns and I have both spent hours investigating Rori Collins, inside and out. The woman doesn't have so much as a traffic ticket on her record. And no one besides this informant of yours seems to think that Rori is a threat to anyone. These weapons these reports say she bought…..never did, I searched and searched and couldn't find any proof she purchased weapons. We need to speak to this informant." Hunter said.

"I will not reveal their identity. I stand behind their information." AJ insisted.

The board members looked at each other, nodding their heads, knowing the action that had to be taken.

"AJ, it is the consensus of this board that you be relieved of duty with the DXS. You need to clean out your desk immediately and security will escort you from the premises. Any board member disagree?" McMahon said. The room was silent. "And I am warning you now; charges may be pending on this case. Right now you are withholding evidence and putting the DXS is one hell of a bad spot."

"You cannot fire me over this!" AJ yelled.

"You left us no choice. You are dismissed. Security will meet you at your office. You will also have to surrender your DXS badge and security pass." McMahon said.

"I'll fight this. You will hear from my attorney." AJ said as she stood up.

"Fair enough, you are dismissed." McMahon said again.

AJ stormed out of the board room. McMahon buzzed security to have them deal with AJ as was protocol when someone was fired.

"We may have a bigger problem." Hunter said. "With AJ refusing to tell us who her informant is, gives me further reason to believe AJ set this up herself to have Rori killed."

"Why would AJ want this lady killed?" Flair asked.

"AJ is obsessively in love with Nick, we all know that. From talking with Ms. Collins while she is in hiding, she revealed that she told AJ things in casual conversation that ended up in Rori's case file…including the Buffalo Creek Flood. I really think AJ saw Rori as a threat even though she seems to have no romantic interest in Nick." Hunter said.

"Fuck, this could get messy as hell." Orton said.

"We have a major problem…the assassin unit is a secret unit. Now they have been assigned to kill an innocent woman, who is alive and in hiding. And the accusations could've been made by someone in the assassin unit abusing their power for personal reasons." Cena groaned.

"And Ms. Collins being missing is in the media with police involved. This has to be handled carefully." Long said.

"We need to meet with Ms. Collins. We need to speak to her and make sure she is on board with helping us keep this from becoming a huge media circus and having our entire unit exposed to the public." McMahon said. "Hunter, Reigns….you're both sure she is innocent and not a threat to anyone?"

"Yes, I wouldn't put my career on the line if I wasn't sure." Roman said.

"I agree. I couldn't find anything against her and those that have her in protective custody assure me she has not shown the slightest bit guilt." Hunter said.

"Do you think Ms. Collins will be willing to meet with us? We really need to talk to her and we will have to contact the local PD to help get this situated. The integrity and security of the assassin division is at stake." Cena said.

"She will. She trusts her government despite this situation and she desperately wants this over so she can contact her mother." Hunter said.

"Have her here tonight at 9pm. No one is to breathe a word of this meeting. It will be Hunter, the board and those holding Ms. Collins in protective custody only." McMahon said. "I will alert security of the situation."

"What about AJ?" Ambrose asked.

"I will be personally assisting federal authorities in investigating whether or not AJ has attempted to have Ms. Collins killed. It has to be handled carefully but no one in the DXS is allowed to abuse power to hurt innocent citizens. That goes against every division in the DXS from Intel gathering to peace keeping and so on." McMahon said.

"Ms. Collins will be here tonight and will be kept safe." Hunter said.

Reigns, Hunter, Rollins and Ambrose looked at each other. None of them could believe how messy this situation was, but were all hoping the end was in sight.

_**Author's Note- **Pastel Shades and Rossi's Lil Devil thank for the awesome reviews. I love writing this story and love the feedback. Thanks so much._


	17. Don't Say A Word

"_She will. She trusts her government despite this situation and she desperately wants this over so she can contact her mother." Hunter said. _

_ "Have her here tonight at 9pm. No one is to breathe a word of this meeting. It will be Hunter, the board and those holding Ms. Collins in protective custody only." McMahon said. "I will alert security of the situation."_

_ "What about AJ?" Ambrose asked. _

_ "I will be personally assisting federal authorities in investigating whether or not AJ has attempted to have Ms. Collins killed. It has to be handled carefully but no one in the DXS is allowed to abuse power to hurt innocent citizens. That goes against every division in the DXS from Intel gathering to peace keeping and so on." McMahon said. _

_ "Ms. Collins will be here tonight and will be kept safe." Hunter said. _

_ Reigns, Hunter, Rollins and Ambrose looked at each other. None of them could believe how messy this situation was, but were all hoping the end was in sight. _

2000 Hours

Dean knocked on the door to Rori's room. When they told her what happened at the meeting she had been shocked at the turn of events with AJ. She was stunned that AJ refused to give up the name of the informant. Dean knocked at the door again, knowing Rori had gone to get dressed for the meeting they were taking her to.

Rori opened the door and smiled at Dean. She was wearing khaki pants and a blue shirt which made her blue eyes stand out more.

"You almost ready to go?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, just a little nervous." She said.

"Everything will be fine. The board of directors is on your side. We're gonna keep you safe." Dean said.

Rori nodded. "I know. I trust you and Roman and Seth. I am just confused why AJ wouldn't give up the name of her informant. Doesn't she realize I am in danger?"

"The board is going to look into it and find out the truth. Vince McMahon is looking into all AJ's files and he will find out what is going on." Dean said.

"I guess we should get going." Rori said. Dean could see she was still nervous.

"It is going to be okay. I promise." Dean took her hand. "Remember, sometimes you just have to be brave and do the tough thing."

She nodded and Dean kept her hand in his as they walked down the stairs. Roman and Seth were waiting for them in the kitchen.

"Come on, let's go." Roman said.

Roman and Seth walked out first. Dean led Rori out of the house and walked her over to the SUV. He helped her into the backseat and climbed in beside her. Seth took the passenger seat as Roman started the SUV. The SUV pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the DXS headquarters.

"After this meeting, do you think I will be able to contact my mother?" Rori asked.

"The board of directors will let us know the best course of action to take. I know this is hard but the assassin division cannot be exposed to the public." Roman said.

"I know. Sometimes I still think I am in the middle of some crazy dream." Rori said.

Rori looked out the window seeing houses go by as they drove further. She realized she had no clue exactly where the guys' house was. She didn't pay attention the night Dean took her out to the lake.

'What the fuck? This guy behind me is driving right up our bumper." Roman frowned.

Dean turned around and saw a black car driving extremely close to their SUV. Dean frowned.

"You're going the speed limit. They must be in a big hurry." Seth said.

"They can pass when we get on the highway." Roman said.

"You remember what I told you this morning?" Dean leaned over and whispered. Rori smiled and nodded. "I am still looking forward to that."

She chuckled as Roman stopped at a red light. Suddenly the SUV was hit from behind.

"What the fuck?" Dean looked behind them and saw the black car had crashed into the back of the SUV.

"Fuck, Ambrose stay with Rori, we will check on the passengers of the other car." Roman said.

Roman turned on his flashers. Seth and Roman stepped out of the SUV looking towards the car. They could see the airbags had deployed. As they got closer, the driver's side door opened and AJ stepped out.

"AJ?" Roman was stunned.

"Where is she?" AJ yelled.

"What?" Seth stopped in his tracks.

AJ reached behind her back and pulled a gun out of the waistband of her pants. "My best team betrayed me. I know you have her!"

"Fuck! Rori, get in the floor and stay there." Dean said when he saw what was going on.

Rori hurried out of her seat and climbed onto the floor. Dean pulled his gun out of his leg holster and switched the safety off. He turned and knelt in the floor beside Rori.

"AJ, calm down. Whatever is going on, this is not necessary. There are innocent people around." Roman said, pointing to where other cars had stopped and people on the sidewalk were watching, some dialing cell phones.

"Is she in there?" AJ yelled and shot out the back window of the SUV.

Rori screamed and Dean grabbed her wrist in case her flight response kicked in. Seth hit the ground and rolled under the SUV, while Roman took cover in front of the SUV, both drawing their guns. People on the street scattered for safety. Dean slowly raised his head to look over the seat. He could see AJ walking towards the SUV.

Dean braced himself, knowing he would shoot AJ if she came much closer. As he raised his gun, a gunshot rang out. Rori screamed again. Dean looked up to see AJ scream and grab at her leg. While she was distracted, Roman charged forward and knocked the gun from her hand, then restrained her.

"Roman has her, its okay." Dean said, still unsure what had happened.

Dean looked and saw Rori was crying and he pulled her into his arms, holding her tight.

"It's okay. You're safe." He soothed her.

Seth crawled out from under the SUV and with his gun drawn approached AJ's car. He slowly opened the passenger door and checked the car for other passengers. It was empty.

"We're clear." Seth yelled.

They could hear sirens approaching. Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose knew that local PD had been called and they couldn't leave the scene, and they would find Rori. This was not a good thing for keeping the assassin unit a secret and knew the DXS could be in major trouble.

"Baby listen, we don't have much time. Whatever happens, do not tell the cops anything until you speak to one of us or Hunter." Dean told her.

"Jon, I…."

"Be brave and do the tough thing." He kissed her quick but hard.

Two cop cars pulled up to the site of the accident. Roman was still restraining AJ who was bleeding from a leg wound. Seth laid his gun on the ground to show he was no threat. Police exited their cars with their guns drawn as a third car pulled up to the scene. Three officers rushed to Roman and AJ, one immediately calling for an ambulance.

"You'll be fine baby, just remember what I said." Dean whispered.

"Exit the vehicle with your hands in the air." An officer yelled.

Dean opened the door and slowly climbed out making sure his hands were visible to the officers. Rori took a deep breath and followed him out of the SUV with her hands up. Officers rushed to them and Rori was startled to see Roman and Seth being handcuffed. Officers were attending to AJ. Onlookers had come back out onto the street to see what was going on as an officer directed traffic and a fourth police car pulled up.

Dean was frisked for weapons and then handcuffed. A female officer was summoned to frisk Rori for weapons. Rori kept calm, remembering what Dean told her and wanting to do was right for the three guys that had done so much for her.

"Wait….she's been missing. She is that missing pharmacist the missing persons division has been looking into." One of the officers recognized her.

"Ma'am, are you hurt?" the female officer asked her.

Rori shook her head no.

"Can you tell us your name?" a male officer asked as two ambulances pulled up on the scene.

Rori refused to answer.

"I am telling you. She is that missing pharmacist." The officer insisted.

She could see paramedics rushing to assist AJ. She couldn't see Roman, Seth or Dean. She saw officers taking statements from witnesses.

The female officer handcuffed Rori. "Ma'am this is for your protection and ours. We are going to have EMS check you out."

The female officer led Rori over to one of the ambulances.

_**To be continued…**_

_**Author's Note- **__Again I want to thank my awesome reviewers from last chapter Rossi's Lil Devil and Pastel Shades. Reviews make my day so keep them coming. _


	18. Exposure Aftermath

"_Can you tell us your name?" a male officer asked as two ambulances pulled up on the scene._

_Rori refused to answer._

"_I am telling you. She is that missing pharmacist." The officer insisted._

_She could see paramedics rushing to assist AJ. She couldn't see Roman, Seth or Dean. She saw officers taking statements from witnesses. _

_The female officer handcuffed Rori. "Ma'am this is for your protection and ours. We are going to have EMS check you out."_

_The female officer led Rori over to one of the ambulances. _

2315 Hours, Police Station

"What the hell is going on around here?" the staff Sergeant complained. "We found Rori Collins but she is refusing to speak. The three men brought in with her refuse to speak. The woman they took to the hospital is making no sense. And then these fancy suits show up and have been meeting for an hour with the Captain and the chief."

"Is Collins okay? She has been missing for ten days." Another officer said.

"EMS gave her a clean bill of health. They said she is in good health and indicated she had not been raped. She hasn't said a word. She is in an interview room." Sergeant said.

"Maybe she has been brainwashed. Maybe she is afraid to speak." Another officer said.

The door to the police chief's office opened. Hunter and Vince McMahon walked out with the police chief and captain.

"Sarge, go get the three men brought in with Collins and release them. The entire case is out of our hands now." The chief told him.

"What?" sergeant was shocked.

"Do as I say. They are being released without charge. Feds are taking over the entire case. And then go get Collins. She is free to go as well." The chief said.

The sergeant sent one of the female officers to get Rori while he went to release Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins. When the officer entered the interview room, Rori looked up.

"Your release has been arranged, you are free to go." She told Rori and unlocked her handcuffs.

Rori rubbed her wrists and followed the officer out of the room. When they walked into the station, Rori saw Hunter and hurried over to him.

"Hunter, oh thank heavens you're here." She hugged him.

"Everything is okay." He assured her.

"Miss Collins, I am glad that you are safe." McMahon told her.

She looked at him but didn't say anything.

Hunter chuckled. "It's okay. He's with me. This is Vince McMahon from the board of directors."

Rori smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mr. McMahon."

Rori looked up and saw Roman, Seth and Dean walking in. She was greatly relieved that they appeared to be unharmed as she didn't know if Seth or Roman had been hurt dealing with AJ. She hurried over and hugged Dean.

"Ah, Gary Cooper is about to ride off with Grace Kelly." Seth chuckled.

"You and those movies." Roman rolled his eyes.

"Are you two okay? I was so worried about you." She turned to them.

"We're fine. Let's get out of here so we can talk." Roman said.

McMahon motioned for everyone to follow him and led them out of the police station.

"I know it has been a long night. We will drive everyone back to your house so we can talk." Hunter said. The guys nodded.

"My mama?" Rori looked at him.

"It's okay. It is being handled. She has been notified that you are alive and safe and will get more information as we can speak to her. Can you trust us a little longer?" Hunter asked.

She nodded. "Of course, as long as she knows I am okay."

"Then let's get going." Hunter said, leading them to the cars.

October 28th, 0125 Hours

Hunter and McMahon pulled the cars up outside the guys' house. Dean, Rori and Hunter climbed out of one car, while Seth, Roman and Vince climbed out of the other. Roman led them into the house, shutting off the alarm and turning on the lights.

"Come on in the kitchen, I will make a pot of coffee." Seth said.

The six if them walked into the kitchen. Dean and Rori sat down at the breakfast bar. Seth started making the coffee while Roman looked for something to drink.

"So what happens now?" Roman asked. "How bad is the situation?"

"The board of directors along with Hunter's help has been able to run damage control and we're pretty sure we're going to be able to keep the assassin unit a secret." Vince said.

"And Rori, thank you for being tight lipped with the police. The chief said you wouldn't say a word. You really came through for us." Hunter smiled.

"I just did as I was told. Besides, I didn't want to get the three guys in trouble. They have done so much for me, I wasn't about to do anything to harm them." She said.

"We spoke with the police chief and captain and explained to them that the situation involved classified materials and that Rori was in protective custody and that federal authorities would be handling it. They weren't happy that we didn't explain more, but luckily gave in when we wouldn't elaborate further. No charges will be brought against Seth for shooting AJ. Even witness testimony at the scene showed that it was self-defense. And I further explained to the chief that Seth was protecting someone in protective custody." Vince explained.

"What about AJ?" Dean asked.

"AJ was taken to a hospital for treatment; it was just a leg wound. Orton and Cena were sent to deal with her. Her fiancé Nick was there. I called in a few favors and got federal authorities to cut a deal with her, if Rori agrees to the terms. Rori is still the victim here." Vince said.

"What is the deal? Has she revealed the informant that made accusations against me? And why was she shooting at us?" Rori asked.

"Part of the deal was she had to come clean about your case and reveal the informant. She knew she was already going down for attempted murder of three federal employees, and firearms violations as well. So her deal was she had to reveal her informant and agree to keep the assassin unit private and she would be allowed to serve her sentences concurrently and the firearms charges would be dropped." Hunter said.

"So who was the informant? What do we do with them?" Seth asked.

"Well, when AJ came clean…it turns out there was no informant. AJ herself concocted the whole story of Rori wanting to kill a senator and not trusting the US government, then forged everything about Rori, the Intel, the informant statements, you name it. It was AJ all along." Hunter said.

"But why? I barely knew her." Rori said.

"I am afraid the theory of her being jealous over Nick was correct all along. For whatever reason AJ was very threatened by you working with Nick. In her own mind, she had the idea that you wanted Nick and was using work as a way to get closer to him." Hunter explained.

"But that is insane. Nick was in a relationship, I would never pursue someone in a relationship. And even if he was single, I didn't feel anything for Nick. He was a co-worker and that is it!" Rori protested.

"I know, which is why it has been mentioned that she undergo a psychiatric evaluation as well. When Orton called me, he was concerned about AJ's mental state. He said she was very irrational when discussing Rori." Vince said.

"So all this has been because she thought Rori wanted her boyfriend? We nearly kill an innocent person, drag Rori away from her life and family, put her mother through hell, and drove ourselves crazy investigating everything in Rori's life from family to friends…..and it was all AJ all along worried about losing her boyfriend?" Roman roared.

"Unfortunately yes. As insane and ridiculous as it sounds, it is the truth." Hunter said.

"What deal for AJ do I need to approve of?" Rori asked.

"Of course the DXS will be bringing charges on her for a host of things, but she is also being charged with conspiracy to commit murder. If you will agree to it, the feds are willing to let her serve that sentence concurrently as well with the provision that while in prison she undergo psychiatric evaluation and receive counseling and possibly medication for any mental disorders she is diagnosed with." Vince said.

"With all the charges being brought against her, even with her sentences running concurrently…how long is she looking at in prison?" Rori asked.

"Fifteen years to life. In reality she would most likely be paroled at around the 20 year mark if she is a model prisoner and responds to psychiatric treatment." Vince explained.

"I will accept this deal if one more provision is included." Rori said.

"What is that?" Vince asked.

"That if she is released from prison, a condition of her release is that she is never to contact me again. I want her gone out of my life for good." Rori said.

"I think that can be worked out with no problems." Vince said.

"Another thing, with all the witnesses at the scene of the accident and shooting tonight, we are afraid that Rori may have been recognized and that media may begin prying. Until this dies down a bit, we want Rori to stay here a few more days. The media will leave her alone and we can make sure that when she returns to her life, everything will be normal. We will contact her employers and explain without going into detail." Hunter said.

"It is all over, why can't I go home?" Rori asked.

"Just a few more days until we are sure that we have everything under control and that the assassin unit will be kept a secret. As it is, we may have to reassign Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose. We don't know how much their cover has been blown yet. Keeping all four of you away from the public for a few days will be best." Hunter said.

"I am willing to stay. You haven't led me wrong yet and I want to do what is best for everyone. But I want to talk to my mother." Rori insisted.

"Stubborn on that one. She won't budge." Seth chuckled.

"I will work something out for you and your mom, I promise." Hunter assured her.

"Thank you, then I will stay." Rori smiled.

"Rori, I just wanted to offer you my sincere apologies. It is abhorrent that a trusted member of an elite unit of the DXS abused her powers and tried to kill you. I am very sorry for all the problems one of my trusted employees has caused you." Vince told her.

"It is not your fault. And thank you for working to get my life back in order. AJ may have betrayed everyone, but Hunter has worked very hard to get this figured out. And I can't even tell you how wonderful Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose have been. I think they deserve medals, promotions or whatever the DXS does." Rori said. "You had one bad apple in the assassin unit, but the rest of them that I have encountered have been wonderful."

"Thank you." Vince smiled.

"Just doing my job." Hunter said.

"We're gonna go and let you guys get some rest. I will call you in the morning." Vince said.

Roman nodded. "I'll walk you out."

0230 Hours

Dean was sitting up in his bed relaxing waiting for Rori to finish showering in his bathroom. It had been a long and crazy day; he was just so thankful she was okay. He was angry at the nonsense of the whole thing; her whole life in turmoil, nearly ended because AJ was jealous for no reason over a man. When this whole mess started, Dean, Seth nor Roman believed that the reasons for the false accusations against Rori would've been so petty and pointless.

Rori walked out of the bathroom dressed in black silk pajamas. Dean smiled as she climbed onto the bed beside him and curled against him as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Today was not what I expected at all." Rori said.

"For me either. I thought we would get the name of the informant, have them arrested and have you home by tomorrow." Dean said. "I'm sorry that you can't go home yet."

She looked up at him. "Don't be. My mom knows I am safe now and that is what I really wanted most. Besides, here I feel safe and secure. You three have been so wonderful to me. And I love being near you."

"I am so proud of how well you did with the police. You were amazing baby." He kissed her forehead.

"I would never do anything to hurt you three." She said. "And thank you for taking such great care of me when AJ showed up. I was so scared and you kept me safe."

"Baby, I gotta tell you, I was scared myself. I was so afraid you would be hurt. I was determined to keep you safe no matter what." Dean stroked her cheek.

"You didn't look scared." She said.

"I was. I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt." He said and leaned down and kissed her softly.

"I am glad you weren't hurt either. I was scared she was gonna hurt you." She whispered.

Their lips met and they began to kiss again. These soft quick kisses slowly turned into one long, slow kiss. Dean slipped his tongue into Rori's mouth. She started to suck on it causing Dean's cock come to life. Rori then met Dean's tongue with her own. Their tongues began to do a slow sensual dance moving from one mouth to the other. When Rori's tongue entered his mouth Dean closed his lips around it and sucked on it as she had done to his. They made out for a long time before they both had to break and catch their breath.

They rested a minute or so then started to kiss again. Dean put his hands on Rori's shoulders and pushed her onto her back on the bed. Their lips separated only long enough for Rori to adjust her body so that Dean was lying down on top of her and her legs were to each side of his body. As they started kissing, again Rori wrapped her legs around Dean's waist. Even through her pajamas, Dean could feel her breasts press against him. Dean knew Rori was just as excited as he was. They continued to kiss and their hands roamed the other's body. Dean felt Rori's hands move down his back to his ass and back up again. Dean kissed his way down to the hollow of Rori's neck planting a number of kisses there then he moved back to her lips. When their lips met again, they kissed long and hard. Their tongues played again and they ended only when they both needed air.

Once Dean got his breath back, he bent down and kissed Rori on the lips. He then kissed her on the chin and he moved on down kissing her neck and slowly on down. He kissed his way down to Rori's chest and on to the first button that was buttoned on her PJ top. Dean moved his hand to the button. He started to unbutton it and Rori sighed softly as he finished unbuttoning it. He opened Rori's blouse so that he could see Rori's white lacy bra and the swells of her breasts. Dean kissed around the edges of the bra. Dean kissed his way on down Rori's chest and belly until he had the top completely unbuttoned. Dean helped Rori sit up and helped her shrug off the PJ top.

As he started to push Rori, back down Rori stopped and just leaned back on her elbows. Rori looked down as Dean began to kiss her chest and tummy. As Dean did that, Rori felt his hands move to her back and he unhooked her bra. Dean moved back a second and pulled Rori's bra off. Dean smiled at her then cupped her breasts in his hands and gently squeezed. Rori felt a moan come from her lips and it grew louder when she felt his lips kiss her right nipple. Dean began to suck on her nipple and then draw more of her breast into his mouth. Rori gripped Dean's shoulders and held on tight as Dean squeezed her breasts with his hands and sucked on one then the other breast.

After a few minutes of this Rori cupped Dean's chin in her hand and lifted it up to her mouth. After a few moments of this, Dean could not wait any longer; he had to touch her more. He gripped Rori's PJ bottoms and pulled them off. Dean slipped his hand slowly over the top of Rori's panties and on down to her center. As his finger reached the top, Dean could feel the heat and moisture there. Rori's panties were wet.

"I got you wet baby." He whispered and kissed her.

As he started to stroke her slit going up and down, Rori stopped kissing him and put her head on his shoulder. She moaned loudly and Dean stroked a little harder.

He slipped his hand under Rori's panties and down to her center. His fingers went across her clit. Rori cried out as he caressed her clit with his fingers.

"Jon….don't stop." She moaned.

Dean quickly rubbed her clit and she was soon climaxing with a massive orgasm. He let her ride out her orgasm. He leaned up and kissed her softly.

He pushed Rori onto her back again; he then pulled her panties off.

"You okay baby?" he asked.

"Yeah." she smiled.

Dean kissed Rori. It was a quick kiss then he moved to Rori's breasts and he took a nipple into his mouth. She closed her eyes and sighed at the feeling of his mouth on her nipple. It was wet and warm and when Dean's teeth gently graded against her nipple she moaned. Dean sucked and nibbled on that nipple for a minute then went to the other. He circled the nipple before sucking as much of the breast into his mouth as he could. Rori whimpered when her breast popped from Dean's mouth. Dean did not leave her breasts for long and his mouth quickly found the nipple again and he sucked it back into his mouth.

As he sucked on her breasts Rori felt Dean's hands running up and down her thighs, first on the top then on inside toward her center. Rori wanted Dean to touch her there so bad but Dean kept his hands from that sensitive area. Rori put her hands to the back of Dean's head holding him to her breasts.

Rori moaned. "Oh god Jon, please don't stop. That feels so good!"

Dean looked at Rori and smiled then kissed her. "I love making you feel good."

Rori stared into his eyes and moved in for a kiss. After kissing for what seemed like an eternity, she ran her hands down Dean's back then to his front she reached into his sleep pants to find he was hard and starting to leak.

"Somebody is excited." she smiled.

"Oh fuck yeah" he said. "Shit what you do to me."

Rori pushed him onto his back and pulled his sleep pants down revealing his dick. She swirled her tongue around the head then up the shaft. He moaned, even more excited that she was doing this without him asking. He sank back further on the bed, watching as her head slowly bobbed up and down. He moaned again at how beautiful she looked with her lips around him.

"Baby, that feels a little too good. I got other plans." He gently pulled her off him.

"I want you inside of me now." Rori whispered in his ear.

Dean kissed her softly. "You ready for me baby?" Dean whispered into Rori's ear followed by a slow kiss on the ear.

"Oh yeah" Rori panted as Dean slowly pushed into Rori.

"Fuck yeah!" Dean moaned starting his rhythm slow and deep.

"Jon….feels so good." She looked into his eyes.

He couldn't voice his feelings so he leaned down and kissed her slowly as he continued his slow, deep thrusts. With every thrust, pleasure surged in Rori's body.

"Fuck you are so tight." He whispered.

"Oh harder Jon, harder oh god make me cum!" Rori whimpered.

"Fuck." He moaned, her pleas nearly sending him over the edge.

Dean's thrusts got harder but stayed slow, he had one hand guiding Rori's hips to meet his. He knew Rori was so close by her moans and whimpers. She reached up and gripped his shoulders. He thought she looked beautiful writhing under him.

"Oh god Jon I'm about to cum." Rori moaned.

"Fuck…me too baby." Dean said. "Cum with me baby."

Rori dug her nails into his shoulders as orgasm overtook her. Her body squeezing around him and her cries of ecstasy drove Dean over the edge, cumming deep inside her.

After being still for a few moments unable to move from a paralyzing orgasm, sweat dripped from Dean's body and onto Rori. He pushed her hair off her forehead and gently kissed her.

Dean pulled out and spooned behind her. She snuggled back against him, feeling sated and content. She laced her fingers with his hand that was around her waist. He smiled watching her slowly drift off to sleep. He lay awake, holding her, so thankful she wasn't hurt and that he was holding her. He gently nuzzled the back of her neck.

"I love you." He whispered softly.

He let her even breathing and sweet scent finally lull him to sleep.

_**Author's Note- **__Got excited about the story and posting a quick update. All feedback welcome. Loving my faithful reviewers. Pastel Shades, Rossi's Lil Devil, TheShield'sGirl thanks for the awesome reviews last chapter. Thanks to all that have favorite this story. You guys rock. _


	19. Family Love

_Dean pulled out and spooned behind her. She snuggled back against him, feeling sated and content. She laced her fingers with his hand that was around her waist. He smiled watching her slowly drift off to sleep. He lay awake, holding her, so thankful she wasn't hurt and that he was holding her. He gently nuzzled the back of her neck. _

_ "I love you." He whispered softly. _

_ He let her even breathing and sweet scent finally lull him to sleep. _

0815 Hours

Roman walked into the kitchen looking to have his morning cup of coffee. He looked onto the back deck and saw Dean and Rori already dressed for the day and sipping coffee on the deck. Roman poured himself a cup of coffee and then walked out to join them on the deck.

"Good morning, Roman. You want me to fix you some breakfast?" Rori smiled. Roman noticed she was practically glowing.

"No, coffee is fine for now." Roman smiled as he took a seat.

"Where is Seth?" Dean asked.

"Heard the shower running. He should be down soon." Roman said.

"Have you heard from Hunter yet?" Rori asked.

"No, he should be calling soon." Roman said.

"What happens if you guys have to be reassigned?" Rori asked.

"Don't you worry about that. There are plenty of positions within the DXS we qualify for. And the board takes great care of its people." Roman assured her.

Seth stepped out onto the deck with a cup of coffee. "Morning all."

"I figured you would take a swim this morning." Rori chuckled.

"I might in a bit." He smiled.

"You're so crazy." She laughed.

Hunter walked around the side of the house. "I thought I heard voices around here."

"Hey Hunter, what brings you by this morning?" Roman asked.

"Had something I needed to do." Hunter smiled as a lady with black hair, brown eyes walked up next to him.

"Mama?" Rori was shocked. "Mama!" she nearly yelled and jumped out of her seat running to her mother.

Rori and her mother hugged tightly in the yard, both of them crying. Hunter walked onto the deck to give them some space. Roman, Dean and Seth smiled watching Rori reunited with her mom.

"She looks nothing like her mom. Her mom has different hair, different eyes and is a good six inches taller than her mom." Seth chuckled.

"She looks like her dad. I remember from when we searched her house." Dean smiled, watching the two ladies.

"Rori Sue, I was so worried about you. You had me worried sick." Carol Collins told her.

"I am sorry I scared you. I knew you would be worried. But I was in great hands. I have been very well cared for." Rori assured her.

"I know. Mr. Helmsley explained everything to me." Carol said. "I am just so glad you are okay."

"Come on mama, there are some very special people I want you to meet." Rori told her.

Rori wrapped an arm around her mom and led her up on the deck. The guys stood up to greet the ladies.

"Hunter, thank you so much." Rori hugged him.

"It's no big deal." He smiled.

"I really appreciate it. Thank you." She kissed his cheek.

Rori turned to the guys. "Mama, I want you to meet the gentlemen that kept me in protective custody and worked their tails off to prove my innocence and keep me safe. This is Roman Reigns."

"Nice to meet you." He shook Carol's hand.

"And this is Seth Rollins."

"Nice to meet you. Rori told us a lot about you." Seth shook Carol's hand as well.

"And this is Dean Ambrose, but I call him Jon. I will explain later." Rori smiled.

"I am glad to finally meet you. I know Rori has been very worried about you." Dean shook her hand.

"Thank you boys for taking care of Rori. She is all the family I have left, I about went crazy when she was missing. But I am glad to know she was in such good hands." Carol said.

"We are glad we were able to help." Roman said.

"Don't be so modest." Rori said. "Mama they were wonderful. They kept me safe, made sure I was comfortable. Roman and Seth are like family to me…I got two brothers out of this whole mess. A real blessing in disguise."

Seth and Roman smiled at her praise and were happy she felt so close to them. They had grown very fond of her while she had been with them.

"And Jon is…very special to me." Rori said, unsure of what to label him and not wanting him to feel uncomfortable.

"Very special?" Carol looked at Rori.

"Well….he…." Rori didn't know how to put it.

"He's her boyfriend." Seth said. "I dunno why you just didn't say that."

Rori looked at Dean to see if he was upset, but he just smiled. She smiled at him, relieved he wasn't upset at Seth's label.

"Well I am glad you were in such great hands. And seriously boys, thank you so much. Mr. Helmsley explained to me all he was allowed to. I am so thankful she had good people looking out for her." Carol said.

"We're glad we could help her. You should be very proud; she is a very nice lady. You have a great daughter." Seth said.

"And she has been a real trooper through this whole mess. Had a real stubborn streak about wanting to contact you…but hung in there and did what she had to." Roman said.

"Oh she is stubborn. Always has been. Even as a child." Carol smiled.

"Hunter, any other news?" Rori asked.

"The federal authorities agreed to add your condition that AJ never contact you upon release. So far we have been able to release to the press that you are safe and that more details will be released later. AJ will be formally arraigned when she is released from the hospital." Hunter said. "The board of directors is meeting to decide the best course of action to return you to your life with the least amount of chaos."

"Mama, whatever Hunter asks you to do, please do it. There are a lot of confidential things at stake." Rori said.

"I understand. I can trust them if they have kept you safe and healthy this long." Carol smiled.

"Mrs. Collins, please stay for breakfast. We would love to have you and I am sure you and Rori have catching up to do." Roman said.

"Yeah and I want to see you interrogate Dean." Seth snickered. Dean rolled his eyes.

"I would love to stay. Thank you. And call me Carol, please." She said.

2200 Hours

Dean and Rori were snuggled together on the couch watching 'Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'. Carol Collins had visited with them for several hours that day. She had a lot of questions for Dean, which amused Seth. Seth also realized Rori got her love of movies from her mother. When Hunter and Carol had left, Carol again thanked them for taking care of Rori. Hunter promised he would be in contact soon.

"Is it me or is the lead female in this movie totally not cute enough to get a smoking hot boyfriend like that?" Rori said.

Dean chuckled. "I don't really check out guys so I dunno if he is smoking hot. But I will admit the girl is kind of plain looking."

"By the way, thank you for being so patient with my mom's questions today." Rori said.

"No big deal. Not the first time I have faced a parent's interrogation." Dean said.

"Did it bother you when Seth called you my boyfriend? I mean we never really labeled what we are." She asked.

"It's fine. I think it is about time we put a label on what we are." Dean said.

"So what label are we exactly?" she asked. "Dating? Committed?"

Dean took a deep breath. "Truth is, I would like to be exclusive. I can't stand the thought of sharing you and I hope you feel the same way."

Rori smiled bright enough to light up the room. "I do feel the same way."

Dean leaned in to kiss her, pulling her tighter against him as he moved his lips over hers.

"Enough of that. Don't you know doing that will make Jason come after you?" Seth snickered from the doorway.

"Go away Seth." Dean said but had no malice in his voice.

"Actually Rori called me her brother today, so I think I need to have a man-to-man talk with you." Seth chuckled and Rori burst out laughing.

"Oh forget this." Dean groaned.

Seth sat down. "Well my room is right next to yours so I already know to not give you the 'you aren't allowed to have sex with her' speech."

"You have heard us?" Rori blushed.

"Heard you? I thought of starting up one of those 900 numbers and letting people listen!" Seth laughed making Rori blush more. "However I must ask if you are taking all the proper precautions with my little sister here. Birth control? STD tests?"

Dean rolled his eyes and tried to ignore Seth.

"And as her big brother I must warn you that when she hurts, I hurt and if you hurt her, I'll hurt you." Seth said.

"Fuck you are annoying. Do you see Roman in here giving me shit?" Dean sighed.

"I am the spokesmen for the two of us." Seth smirked.

Rori laughed at Seth's antics. "I always wanted a brother."

_**Author's Note- **__A short but necessary chapter. _


	20. Press Conference

October 29th, 0900 Hours

Roman was sitting at the breakfast bar with his sketchpad as Seth came into the kitchen yawning going straight for the coffee pot.

"I have got to get a room away from Dean's." Seth said.

Roman chuckled. "They are in love, what do you expect?"

"You really think it is that serious?" Seth said.

"They may not have said it yet, but I have never seen Dean this way over a girl before. And Rori really seems to care about him." Roman said.

"That was really sweet yesterday when she called us her brothers." Seth sat down across from Roman.

"I guess without realizing it, she has become part of our little family here." Roman said.

"She doesn't have real brothers. It is kind of nice that she sees me that way." Seth said.

"We're gonna miss her when she leaves." Roman said, never one for expressing many emotions.

"You hear from Hunter yet?" Seth asked.

"He called a little bit ago. He said tomorrow the DXS will be holding a press conference and they want Rori to attend. They want to handle the press all at once and give the story in a way it won't affect the DXS negatively." Roman said.

"What story did they come up with?" Seth asked.

"They are going to say that an employee of the DXS has been arrested for the attempted murder of Rori and that the DXS had her in protective custody while the investigation was ongoing…keeping the assassin unit completely quiet." Roman said. "After AJ is formally arraigned, Rori can go home and resume her life."

"They want Rori to make a statement?"

Roman nodded. "Yeah, Hunter will brief her later today."

"Think she will do it?"

"Yeah, she trusts us." Roman said.

1200 Hours

Dean walked out onto the back deck to find Rori attempting to write her statement for the press conference. He knew she was nervous about it. Hunter had explained everything to her over the phone and she agreed to appear and he had instructed her to write a statement to read that left out details that would expose the assassin unit.

Rori looked up at him and smiled. "Did you have a good work out?"

"It was fine. You may want to talk to Seth. Since tomorrow is 30th and then Halloween, he mentioned getting a bunch of horror movies and having a marathon." Dean said, smiling when Rori's eyes lit up.

"Really? Would you watch with us?" she asked.

"You know I will. I am just sorry you won't be at your own house for Halloween like I said." Dean told her.

"I don't mind. Mama knows I am okay and that is what mattered most. Besides, I will just get some extra Christmas candy and give it out to kids in the pharmacy during December." She smiled.

"How is your statement coming along?" Dean asked.

"Pretty good. I want to make sure that I show appreciation for those who worked to find me when I was 'missing'. Heaven knows if I was really kidnapped or hurt I would want people working hard to find me." She bit her lip. "I am nervous. I mean…speaking in front of all those people. And who knows what they might ask."

"You'll do fine. You just have to read your statement. You let Hunter and Vince handle all the questions. The media's main interest in you will be seeing that you are safe and healthy." Dean assured her.

"Thanks….I am still nervous but it is nice knowing you will be there." She smiled.

"Remember, sometimes you just have to be brave and do the tough thing." He told her. "You'll be fine. And when it's over apparently there will be 48 hours of horror movies."

She giggled. "I can't wait. You think Roman will watch a few with us? It is Halloween for the strong silent types too. I wonder if there is a movie out there that could actually scare Roman."

Dean chuckled at her enthusiasm, thinking she was adorable when she giggled and rambled on.

"I need to start making a list to discuss with Seth. Got any horror movies you like?" Rori said, flipping to a clean sheet of paper.

"Between you and Seth who knows what we'll end up watching." He laughed.

"Okay, I want to watch 'Pet Sematary' and 'Silence of the Lambs' and of course 'Halloween'…" she began writing her list. Dean was thrilled to see her so happy, knowing she was safe and everything was okay.

October 30th, 1000 Hours

The press conference was being held in the press room of the local Quantico police station. Several news reporters and journalists had already gathered in the folding chairs that were out for them to sit in. There were several cameras and microphones set up as well. Vince, Hunter, and the local police chief were already there and waiting to get started.

Dean, Rori, Seth and Roman walked in to a room off the side of the press room. Rori tensed up seeing everybody but Dean squeezed her hand to reassure her.

"Okay, Rori is here, I guess we can get started." Hunter said. "You know what to do?"

Rori nodded. "Roman checked over my written statement."

"Vince and I will handle everything else. There will be a lot of camera flashes but just remain calm." Hunter said. "You will be fine. And relax, nobody likes doing these things."

"We'll stay in there and watch everything through the one way glass." Roman said.

Rori nodded. "I'll see you guys when I get back. Seth you better have found those movies I wanted."

Seth chuckled and nodded. Dean squeezed her hand again and kissed her cheek. She smiled at him and then followed Hunter and Vince out the door and into the press room. A few cameras flashed as they made their way over to the table where a small podium had been set up as well. They were joined by the Quantico police chief.

The police chief went to the podium. "Good morning. This press conference was called by the Department of External Services in reference to the recent disappearance of Rori Collins who was reported missing earlier this month. Her case was being investigated by my department and many in the media reported her disappearance as well. At this time I will turn the mic over to Vince McMahon from the DXS."

Vince approached the podium as the chief stepped aside. "Thank you chief. I am Vince McMahon; many of you know me as the chairman of the board of directors of the local DXS division here in Quantico. The DXS has always been a leader in public safety, promoting peace and keeping Americans safe both in the states and aboard. Myself and my staff have always been dedicated to those goals. However, it seems that the trust placed in the DXS was severely betrayed by one of our staff. Because the investigation is ongoing I cannot reveal any information except to say that an employee of the DXS is being charged with conspiracy to commit murder. That person has of course been relieved of their duties and is in custody with the proper authorities. Rori Collins was who this employee was attempting to have murdered."

Rori took a deep breath seeing many in the media focus on her for a moment. She kept her face neutral and looked at Vince as he continued.

"Rori Collins was put in protective custody of the DXS while the murder conspiracy was being investigated. That is where she was when she was reported missing. Safety of innocent civilians is always the priority of the DXS and we made sure Ms. Collins was kept safe until we could bring charges against those meaning to harm her." Vince said. "Ms. Collins now has a statement she would like to make."

Rori took a deep breath and stepped up to the podium. Vince gave her an encouraging smile.

"Good morning. As Mr. McMahon said, I am Rori Collins. Earlier this month I was taken into protective custody by the department of external services as their investigations had found my life was in danger. I cannot give many details on the situation because the case is ongoing and has not yet been brought to trial. Due to the nature of my entering protective custody I was reported missing and some feared I had been kidnapped or murdered. I have been made aware of the efforts of the local police, volunteers and friends to locate me when I was believed to missing and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is a wonderful feeling to know that so many people worked hard when they felt I needed help. Your support and efforts have not gone unnoticed by me, and I sincerely thank you." She smiled. "I also want to thank the DXS for putting me into protective custody and working so hard to bring those guilty to justice. I want the public to know that while in protective custody, I was very well cared for and I saw the dedication of the DXS to find the truth so I could return to my life as soon as possible. Despite the fact that it is an employee of the DXS that is now charged with conspiracy to have me murdered, I do not hold the DXS responsible….any organization can have someone commit a crime. I still hold the DXS in the highest regard and ask the public to do the same. Thank you."

Rori took her seat again beside Hunter, who gave her a quick wink. She felt calmer now that her speaking portion of the press conference was over.

"I am now going to turn the mic over to Hunter Helmsley, one of the DXS employees that investigated Ms. Collins' case. He will answer your questions, but remember many details cannot be revealed at this time as the case is ongoing." Vince said.

Hunter approached the podium. "Questions at this time?"

"Can we get the name of the employee charged?" was yelled.

"I cannot discuss that at this time." Hunter said.

"What department did the employee charged work for? Peace keeping? International intelligence? What?" one reporter yelled out.

"I cannot reveal that at this time." Hunter said.

"How is this incident going to affect the DXS?" was yelled.

"There will be some procedural changes within the DXS that I cannot go into detail about. However, the DXS will continue to pursue the goals it has for many years of keeping Americans safe." Hunter said.

"Is the employee getting a deal to protect the image of the DXS?"

"I cannot discuss details of prosecution at this time." Hunter said.

Questions went on this way for another 10 minutes or so. There was very little Hunter could answer to maintain the secret of the assassin division. Finally Hunter called an end to the questions. Hunter, Vince and Rori left the tables and podium and returned to the side room where Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose had been watching behind a one way glass.

1400 Hours

Dean knocked on the door to the room Rori was staying in. She had wanted to take a nap after the press conference. Dean knew she was tired. He slowly pushed open the door and saw Rori lying on the bed asleep in lounge pants and a sweatshirt. He quietly shut the door and walked over to the bed. He sat on the bed beside her and rubbed her shoulder.

"Baby, you might wanna wake up. Seth is back with a stack of movies." He said.

Rori slowly opened her eyes and smiled up at him. "What time is it?"

"Around 2pm. How was your nap?"

"Good, I needed a little extra rest. This morning was scary. I never talked in front of so many people before…and on camera too." She said.

"Rori, I am so proud of you. You got up and read your statement and stayed so calm. I think you were very brave." He smiled.

"I think I was only able to do it because I knew you were there. You're what made me brave." She chuckled.

"Don't sell yourself short; you are very strong and brave. You have handled everything from the moment we took you from your driveway very well. You were scared but you held in there and did what was asked of you and held it together. You are a very strong person." Dean said.

"Thanks." She smiled. "But I never would've been so strong through everything without you three guys. The only reason it was bearable was because you three were so kind to me, and worked so hard to find the truth. And then I had you. You loaned me a lot of your strength when I needed it."

He leaned down and kissed her. "I was glad to do it."

"You know the irony of all this is….AJ wanted to kill me because she thought I wanted her boyfriend and because of her actions…..I found my own boyfriend." She chuckled.

"If I didn't hate her so much I might thank her." Dean smiled.

"Come on, let's go watch horror movies. It's October 30th….tic tac night, devil's night, prank night…whatever you wanna call it!" she giggled and climbed off the bed.

"It's the middle of the afternoon." Dean chuckled.

"So we're getting an early start." She smiled and quickly kissed him.

Dean chuckled and followed her out of the room. He thought she was adorable when she was happy and he was so glad that after the rough few weeks she had, she was able to enjoy Halloween after all. She hurried downstairs to the kitchen where Seth was sorting the movies he had rented and a few he had purchased.

"So what did you get?" she asked.

Dean stood in the doorway watching her and Seth go through the movies. Roman looked up from drawing on his sketchpad amused at the sibling-like bond Seth and Rori shared.

"Alien' that is good. 'Tremors' that is a snoozer. 'Carrie' too many naked women." Rori went through the movies.

"You complain about 'Carrie' having too many naked women but love 'Friday the 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter'?" Seth said.

"Okay fine, you have a point." She laughed. "Child's Play' made me afraid of my neighbor's My Buddy doll when I was a kid. 'The Ring' made me afraid of the TV for a long time. 'Hellraiser' that man must've been damn phenomenal in bed if that bitch was willing to face demons and murder people to get him back."

Roman raised his eyebrow as Seth burst out laughing.

"What? It's true. And what makes it worse is she is married to such a sweet guy and lusting after his brother!" Rori said.

"Rori, I doubt anyone analyzed that movie that way as it was one of the first movies to feature bondage." Seth said.

"What the hell are you two gonna watch?" Roman thought the movie sounded crazy.

"Well you're gonna watch some of these with us right?" Rori asked.

Roman gave her a look that said 'are you kidding?'.

"Come on Roman, even big, tough assassins have to have fun and it's Halloween. Everyone is entitled to one good scare on Halloween." She said.

"Quoting a movie to make your point…..damn you're awesome." Seth laughed.

Rori moved over to Roman and dramatically laid her head on his shoulder giving him puppy eyes. "Please Roman, the more the merrier."

Seth moved over and laid his head on Roman's other shoulder and tried the puppy look. "Yeah, please Roman."

Roman rolled his eyes as Dean burst out laughing at their antics. It was truly a hilarious sight and he loved Rori's humor.

"I guess a few movies wouldn't hurt." Roman sighed. "I know when I am outnumbered."

Rori giggled and hugged him. "Okay, let's start with 'Near Dark' badass vampires!"

"I'll get the snacks." Seth said.

Dean smiled as he helped Rori gather the movies to carry them into the game room.

_**Author's Note- **__Hope you all are still reading. There is more of this story to come before the ending, so hang in there through these transitional chapters. Love the reviews by the way. _


	21. Going Home

November 1st, 1100 Hours

Hunter walked up the driveway of the guys' home having just come from court. He had news for everyone and wanted to deliver it in person. He knocked on the front door and after a few minutes Seth opened the door.

"Hunter, come in. Is everything okay?" Seth asked.

Hunter nodded. "Where is everyone?"

"Roman is working out and Dean and Rori are in the kitchen." Seth said.

"Go get Roman, I have some news." Hunter said.

Seth nodded and headed downstairs to the gym. Hunter walked into the kitchen and found Rori cooking while Dean sat at the breakfast bar.

"Hunter, what brings you by?" Rori smiled.

"I have some good news. You can go home any time you like now." Hunter said as Seth and Roman entered the kitchen.

"Really? That is great." Rori smiled.

"AJ been released from the hospital? What about an arraignment and bail?" Roman said, still very protective of Rori.

"Relax Roman; AJ was released from the hospital last night to the federal authorities. She was arraigned this morning and bail was denied. Everything is fine. Rori can safely go home and we feel the media will leave her alone. If they give her any problems, she knows not to talk to them." Hunter said.

"That is great news!" Seth hugged her.

"We will be in touch when a trial date is set. Everything will be fine though as AJ has accepted the plea agreement." Hunter told her.

Rori walked over and hugged Hunter, surprising him a bit. "Thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome. I am just glad everything has worked out so well for you." Hunter said.

"Thanks Hunter, you have been a huge help with all this. We owe you big." Dean said.

"I always take care of my division." Hunter said. "Now I have to get back to headquarters. I just wanted to share the good news in person."

"I'll walk you out." Seth said, and walked with Hunter out of the kitchen.

"I can't believe it. I can go home." Rori hugged Dean.

"I am happy for you. Now you can go back to your usual routine and go back to work." He smiled.

"And we can finally go out like a regular couple." She giggled.

"We're really gonna miss you around here. No one to tell crazy WV stories or watch horror movies….of course we still have Seth." Roman smiled.

"Oh she'll be back, Christmas movies will be starting soon." Seth walked into the kitchen.

"Holiday movies are so sappy and border on chick flicks. My favorite Christmas movie is 'Die Hard'." Rori said.

"You watch 'Die Hard' for Christmas?" Seth laughed.

"It's my tradition. I watch 'Die Hard' while wrapping presents." She giggled.

Dean wrapped an arm around her. "After lunch, why don't you get your things together and I will take you home this evening and help you get settled in."

"That sounds great." She smiled.

1500 Hours

Dean placed Rori's bag in the trunk of his car and turned to see Seth and Roman standing beside his car. Rori was inside making sure she had not forgotten anything. Finally Rori walked out of the house, smiling as she came down the sidewalk.

"You got everything?" Dean asked.

"I think so. If I forgot something, you can just give it to me when you see me again." She said.

"I am sure we'll be seeing you around here often." Dean winked at her.

"Roman, Seth….thank you for everything. I feel really blessed to have had you help me through this whole thing. I mean it." Rori told them.

"It worked out pretty well. You're safe now and we got a new family member in return." Seth smiled.

"Here, I drew this for you." Roman handed her a rolled up drawing. She unrolled the paper and saw it was a drawing of her, as if she were turned to the side and gazing off into the distance.

"Roman, it is beautiful. Thank you." She kissed his cheek and then hugged him tight. Roman returned the embrace.

"You got all our cell numbers right?" Roman asked. She nodded. "If you need us, don't hesitate to call day or night. If you can't reach Dean, you call me or Seth."

She nodded and turned to Seth. "I think I'll miss you most of all, scarecrow."

Seth hugged her tight. "You better come back and watch movies with me. Maybe I can get you to watch a chick flick!"

"I wouldn't count on it." She chuckled.

"You ready to go?" Dean asked her.

"Yeah, I will see you guys soon. I promise." She smiled as Dean opened the car door for her.

"Take care of her Dean. If she needs anything, let us know." Roman said.

Dean nodded as he climbed in the driver's side of the car. He smiled watching Rori wave goodbye to Seth and Roman.

1630 Hours

Rori walked through her house again, just happy to be home. Her car was in the driveway and everything in her house was in place. The police had kept the place secure while she was away. She walked into her living room and saw Dean sitting on the couch.

"Everything is just how I left it. I am very lucky no storms came along and fried my appliances or electronics. Usually when I am going away, I unplug everything and disconnect the cable from the wall." She sat down beside him.

"You seem so happy the past few days." Dean smiled.

"I am happy. I am safe and in the clear. I just got to spend my favorite holiday with some awesome people. The holidays are coming up. I have you. What's there not to be happy about?" she smiled.

"I am so glad you have your life back." Dean wrapped an arm around her.

"I guess everything happens for a reason. While AJ planned to have me killed, fate planned for me to find you three." She smiled. "You know, I never would've made it through all that without you. Seth and Roman were wonderful, took care of me and became like family. But you….you helped me when I was scared, you gave me the courage to get out of bed when I wanted to hide under the covers…..thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, I would gladly do it all again." He said.

"Would you stay the night with me? I guess I wanna keep you a little longer." She blushed.

"I would like that." He leaned in and kissed her.

November 2nd, 0800 Hours

Dean sat down on the edge of Rori's bed. She was still sleeping, but he had awoke earlier and got dressed. He needed to be getting home and he knew Rori had plans for the day. He watched her sleep for a moment, realizing he was going to miss her after having her with him constantly for so long. He gently pushed the hair back from her face. Slowly she opened her eyes.

"What time is it?" she smiled.

"Around 8am. I am headed home. I just wanted to kiss you goodbye." He said.

"I should probably get up and get moving myself. I have to sort the mail I missed, make sure all my bills are paid up, and then check in at work so I can start back." She sat up, keeping the sheet wrapped around her for modesty.

"If you need anything, call me." Dean kissed her.

"I will. I should be okay though." She kissed him.

"Do you want me to make sure your car will start, it hasn't been started in a while?" Dean asked.

"I am sure it is fine." She smiled.

"You want me to pick up some groceries for you? I am sure some of what you had has spoiled by now." Dean said.

"I can stop at the store. I will need to clean out the fridge today too and get rid of anything that went bad." She said.

"Is there anything I can do for you before I go?" he asked.

"You can kiss me again." She smiled.

Dean leaned in and kissed her again. "I will call you tonight." He kissed her again. "Call me before then if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks for staying with me last night….helping me get back into routine and all." She said.

"Anything for you." He kissed her again. "Okay, I am going before I just crawl back in that bed with you and don't let you get anything done today."

"Is that a promise?" she giggled.

"Who knew you could be a vixen?" he chuckled. He kissed her quickly and stood up. "I will call you tonight."

"You want me to walk you out?" she asked.

"No, relax a few more minutes or whatever before starting your day." He ran a hand through his hair. "I better go."

"Bye Jon, see you soon." She said.

He stared at her a moment. "Bye baby, I'll call you." He turned and walked out of the room.

2100 Hours

Dean walked into the kitchen to grab a cold beer, finding Roman with his sketchpad at the breakfast bar while Seth loaded the dishwasher.

"You talk to Rori yet?" Seth asked.

"I was about to go call her. See how her day went, make sure she is adjusting to being back home, etc." Dean opened the fridge.

"You're really love her." Seth said.

"Thank you Dr. Phil." Dean rolled his eyes.

"If she needs anything let us know. She is family now." Roman said.

Dean nodded as he opened his beer. "She is anxious to get back to work and return to normal."

"Well the rabbits that you two are, I am sure we'll be seeing her often." Seth snickered.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Excuse me; I am gonna go call my girl."

Dean walked upstairs to his bedroom and set his beer on the nightstand. He picked up his cell phone and scrolled through to Rori's number and hit the call button.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey pretty lady." He smiled.

"Hey Jon."

"How was your day? You get everything in order?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got all my bills paid no problem. Then I cleaned out the fridge. Mostly my fresh vegetables had gone bad. Trip to the grocery store solved that problem. And the car was fine." She chuckled.

"You check in at work?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I start back on my regular schedule day after tomorrow. Everyone was really happy to see me." She smiled. "I saw Nick."

"How did that go?" Dean asked.

"He actually wanted to talk to me, so we sat in the staff lounge and had a long talk. I really feel bad for him." Rori said.

"He wanted to talk to you?"

"Yeah, I don't know what he knows about the whole case so I didn't reveal anything, just mostly let him talk. He knows that AJ…of course he calls her April still, tried to have me killed and he apologized over and over. He kept saying he knew she was possessive of him but he thought it was just her way and certainly not a danger. He is really hurt by all this; he really loved her…I mean he wanted to marry her and then finds out she was trying to kill his colleague." She said. "I told him it was not his fault but….I think he still feels guilty."

"I am sure it was a shock to him. Maybe he should take some time off, get his head together." Dean suggested.

"That is a great idea. I will suggest it to him. Now that I am going back to work we could spare him, let him have some time to himself." She agreed.

"Any media hassle you today?" he asked.

"Nope, everything was fine. How was your day?" she asked.

"Not bad. Hunter said there are no assignments for us right now. So that means this weekend I can take you out on a real date." Dean said.

"A real date, what did you have in mind?" she giggled.

"I was thinking we would start with dinner and take it from there." He said.

"That sounds great. I am looking forward to it."

"Me too. I better go so you can get some rest. I will talk to you tomorrow." He said.

"Sounds good. Tell Seth and Roman I said hello."

"I will. I….. will tell them. Goodnight baby." Dean said.

"Goodnight Jon." She said and hung up.

Dean turned off his phone and grabbed his beer, leaning back against his bed.

_**Author's Note- **__I have been getting several reviews wanting more Seth and Roman. Trust me, they are coming I just needed to get the story transitioned to the next part. Keep reading, more chapters to come. _


	22. Life After Protective Custody

November 3rd, 0800 Hours

Seth was frying eggs for breakfast when Dean walked into the kitchen. He looked tired, his eyes were red. He grabbed for a mug and some coffee.

"Morning, you want any breakfast?" Seth asked.

"No, I am gonna go have a smoke or two." Dean took his coffee and went out to the back deck.

Seth frowned watching him for a moment, then shrugged and turned back to his eggs. Roman walked into the kitchen.

"Where is Dean?" Roman asked.

"Outside smoking, I guess with Rori gone he can smoke as much as he wants." Seth said.

Roman looked out at Dean on the deck. "He had really cut back while she was here."

"Why were you looking for him?" Seth asked.

"I wanted to see if he was okay. I found him on the treadmill at 3am last night." Roman said.

"Who knows with Dean, you know how hard to read he is. And how well he does with emotions." Seth sighed.

"Well Hunter wants to meet with us soon. The board is most likely going to reassign us. We got a little more exposure than they liked with that accident that AJ caused. And we will have to testify even in a closed courtroom." Roman said.

"To be honest…I am relieved about it. I think after Rori's case…I dunno, just to think I almost killed an innocent woman." Seth said. "I mean I had her in my gun sight, my finger was on the trigger…..I swear if I had killed her and then found out she was innocent…..I dunno what I would've done."

"Sounds like something for you to talk to doc about during your next psych evaluation." Roman said.

Dean walked back in, smelling of cigarettes.

"You okay? You look tired." Roman said.

"I didn't sleep much last night. Couldn't get comfortable or something." He shrugged.

"Did working out help? Figured you might be trying to wear yourself out." Roman said.

"It helped me sleep some." Dean said.

"You talk to your girl last night? How is she?" Seth asked.

"She's fine. Goes back to work tomorrow. I am taking her out this weekend." Dean said.

"Ohhhhh, so are you going to go casual, super romantic or something in between?" Seth asked.

"I haven't decided. I am gonna go try laying down for a bit. I am still tired." Dean said and headed back upstairs.

November 4th, 0830 Hours

Roman walks into the kitchen having just finished an early morning workout. Seth was brewing coffee and playing some game on his iPad.

"You see Dean this morning?" Roman asked.

"When I came down, he was outside smoking. He went back upstairs a bit ago." Seth said.

"Is it me or is he smoking a lot even for Dean?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. Every time I saw him yesterday he was outside smoking. Maybe he is making up for lost smokes while Rori was here." Seth rolled his eyes.

"Maybe. Who knows what's going on in his head?" Roman shook his head.

"I think I am gonna head to the mall later. You wanna come with me?" Seth asked.

"What the hell, I need a few things myself." Roman said.

Dean came down the stairs with a large laundry bag overflowing. He started towards the utility room.

"Dean, what are you doing man?" Seth asked.

"Washing my sheets, pillowcases, comforter…everything smells like Rori." Dean said.

Seth and Roman shared a confused look.

"And that bothers you?" Roman asked. Dean shrugged.

"Yeah, don't you just hate when your bed smells like a gorgeous woman…..I should have such an inconvenience in my life." Seth said sarcastically. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Dean looked up at them. They could see bags forming under his eyes that looked red. He obviously had not slept well again.

"Just leave me alone." Dean sighed.

"Are you okay? Did you and Rori have a fight?" Roman asked.

"Yes I am fine and no we did not. As far as I know she is at work today, her first day back." Dean sighed.

"Why don't you go see her? Surprise her and take her out to lunch." Seth smiled.

Dean stopped and appeared to think about it. He sighed. "No, I will see her this weekend." He walked into the utility room and kicked the door shut.

"What the hell is his problem?" Seth asked.

"I have no idea. I thought he would jump at your suggestion, heaven knows he loved spending time with her while she was here." Roman frowned.

"No kidding. And if I had a great girlfriend like her, I wouldn't pass up the chance to surprise her with lunch." Seth said.

"Just give him some space. You know how Dean is when he gets in a mood." Roman sighed. "I am gonna shower. Then we can head out."

November 6th 1900 Hours

Dean pulled up in front of Rori's house. He planned to take her out to dinner, their first real date. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. He was wearing black dress pants and a gray button down shirt. He looked at Rori's porch and smiled seeing she had Thanksgiving decorations on display. He knocked on the door.

Rori opened the door wearing a simple black dress and heels. "Jon, perfect timing I just finished getting ready."

"You look so beautiful." Dean smiled. "I have never seen you this dressed up except in pictures."

"Thank you, but this is my standby dress." She chuckled.

"Doesn't matter, you look wonderful." He leaned in and kissed her.

"Would it be silly to say I missed you? I know I saw you earlier in the week, but somehow I missed you." She said.

Dean's voice caught in his throat but he finally spoke. "No, I missed you too. We had been together 24/7 for so long; guess it is gonna be a new experience for us."

"So where are you taking me?" she smiled up at him.

"I thought Italian food would be nice. Sound good to you?" he asked.

"Sounds wonderful. Just let me grab a jacket." She smiled. Dean helped her put her jacket on and then walked her to his car.

"So how have you been?" Rori asks when Dean started the car.

"What do you mean? I have been just fine; I have spoken to you every day." Dean said as he drove.

"Yes, but a few times this week you haven't sounded like yourself…almost distant and upset or something." She said.

"I am fine. Nothing for you to worry about." Dean smiled.

"If something was wrong you would tell me, right? I mean you know you can tell me anything." Rori said.

"Everything is fine, I promise." Dean said but Rori didn't seem convinced. She let it go, not wanting to get into an argument and she sensed that Dean didn't enjoy talking about problems.

Dean drove them to a nice Italian restaurant outside of town. He kept glancing over at Rori, enjoying seeing her dressed up. Inside the restaurant they were seated at a table across from each other.

"Have you ever been here before?" Rori asked as she looked over the menu.

"No, but Seth recommended the place and said the baked ziti was good." Dean said.

"How are Seth and Roman? I need to call them." She said.

"They are both doing the same. Seth is actually relieved to be reassigned. I doubt he will ever return to being an active field assassin." Dean said.

"How do you feel about being reassigned?" Rori looked at him.

Dean shrugged. "It needs to be done."

"Any idea what they will be reassigning you guys to?" she asked.

"No, but there has been some whispers about AJ's open position." Dean said.

"So it is for sure that you three are being reassigned?" she asked.

"Pretty much. They might move us elsewhere in the country, but like I said, I don't think Seth wants to be an assassin anymore. But all three of us are completely dedicated to the DXS." Dean said.

A waiter came and took their orders. When he left, Rori reached across the table and squeezed Dean's hand.

"Our first real date." She smiled.

"Yeah, you certainly waited long enough." He half smiled.

"Well I understood the circumstances. Besides, you did so much to make our time together special when I was in protective custody." She said.

Dean looked as if he wanted to say something but finally shook his head and just gave a small smile.

"Have you heard any more news on AJ's case?" she asked.

"No, Hunter said he would let us know when her next court appearance was." Dean said.

"Nick is taking everything pretty hard. He and I had a couple of long talks and….he is gonna take a few weeks off from work. Spend some time clearing his head and healing." Rori said.

"It must be mind-blowing to him to find out that the woman he plans to marry is being charged with trying to have his colleague killed."

"Well, he feels very guilty and apologized to me over and over. I think I finally got him convinced that I never held him responsible. And he is just as confused as to why AJ targeted me. There are lots of female employees at the pharmacy with us." Rori said. "I really feel bad for him."

"Maybe the time off will do him good." Dean said.

"I hope so. Part of me wonders if AJ realizes that this whole fiasco hurt Nick…..and she claimed to have loved him." Rori frowned. "But enough about that…we should be having a great evening. This is our first real date."

"Good idea. I still can't get over how beautiful you look." He smiled at her.

2200 Hours

Dean pulled into the driveway to Rori's house. He shut off his car. Rori smiled as he walked around and opened the door to let her out. He walked with her up to the front door of her house.

"Do you want to come in for a bit?" she asked as she unlocked the front door.

"No, I really should get home." He said.

That was not the answer she had expected. "Is everything okay?"

Dean looked at her, wanting nothing more than to just walk into the house with her and forget everything else.

"Everything is fine. I just….I should be getting home." Dean said.

"If something was bothering you, you would tell me right? You have been acting a little different all evening." She said.

"I'm sorry; I guess I just have a lot on my mind." Dean shrugged.

"Well don't be sorry, you wanna talk about it?" she offered.

He looked at her and nearly blurted the truth. But he shook his head. "No, just one of those things I need to work out in my own mind."

"Okay, but let me know if I can help." She smiled. "I had a wonderful time tonight. Dinner was great, thank you."

"I am glad you enjoyed it." Dean said.

"Call me tomorrow?" she asked.

"I will." Dean leaned in and kissed her. "Goodnight Rori."

"Goodnight Jon." She hugged him tight then turned and walked into her house alone.


	23. Different Paths

November 9th 2100 Hours

Dean sat alone, smoking on the back deck. He looked down at the cell phone in his hand. He had listened to and read the messages on there for Rori over and over the past few days, yet could not bring himself to contact her. He put out his cigarette as he opened his messages and once again looked at those from Rori.

_ Monday 8:45AM: Hey Sweetie, on my way to work. Didn't hear from you yesterday so just wanted to say hi. Talk to you soon._

_ Monday 9:07 PM: Jon, are you okay? I haven't heard from you in two days. _

_ Tuesday 11:50AM: Starting my lunch break. Please call me, I am worried about you. If it is something that is a secret because of the DXS I understand, just let me know you are okay._

_ Tuesday 5:37PM: Leaving the gym. Very worried about you. Please tell me what is going on. _

Dean ran a hand over his eyes. He was so tempted to call her. He missed her. Instead he lit another cigarette and dialed his voicemail to listen to the messages he had saved from her.

_Sunday 10:00 PM "Hi Jon, just wanted to say goodnight before turning in. Guess I missed you. Talk to you soon."_

_Tuesday 8:51AM "Hey Jon I am on my way to work. I haven't heard from you since Saturday and I just wanted to check in with you. I hope everything is going okay. Tell Seth and Roman I said hello. Talk to you later." _

He turned his phone off. He took a drag from his cigarette as he debated what to do. He had never been good with feelings.

Inside the house Seth walked into game room to find Roman watching TV, just flipping through the channels.

"Where is Dean?" Seth asked.

"Where is he always the past few days? On the deck chain smoking." Roman said.

"What the hell is wrong with him? He has been grouchy as a bear, smoking like a chimney and withdrawn." Seth said.

"Ever since his date with Rori." Roman said. "I wonder what happened between them."

"Me too. I expected him to come home the next day…not that night." Seth said.

"You know Dean; he is never one to talk about what he is feeling." Roman said.

Seth's cell phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was Rori calling. He stood up and walked into the living room for some privacy and answered.

"Hello?"

"Seth, hi it's Rori. Glad I caught you." She said.

"Hey there my adopted sister, how are you?" he smiled.

"I am doing pretty good. Back to work and everything." She said.

"Glad to hear it."

"Listen, I am not trying to be pushy or invasive but….is everything okay with Jon? I don't want to invade his privacy or anything but I haven't heard from him since he dropped me off after our date. He hasn't returned my texts or calls." She said.

Seth was unsure of how to answer. "Dean is physically okay. He is…..well he is safe at home."

"Well that answers part of my questions…..I was thinking maybe he was on an assignment from the DXS. But it raises a lot of other questions." Rori sighed.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…but did you two have a fight?" Seth asked.

"No, we didn't. Seth, I don't understand what is going on. I mean…..I don't want to be needy and I don't want to smother him…..but…I can't understand why he would go this long and not communicate with me after how close we had grown." She said.

Seth felt torn between two of his friends, but also knew something was off with Dean. "Rori, I am not sure what to tell you. He hasn't been acting himself the past few days."

"I noticed a few times on our date he was acting differently…almost like he was purposely trying to not get too close to me or something." Rori said.

"Give it a few days. Maybe he will come around. Maybe he is just having a moody spell or something." Seth tried to reassure her.

"Okay, thanks for trying to help." She said.

"Anything for my sister. I'll call you soon." Seth said.

"Sounds good. Bye Seth." She said and hung up.

Seth closed his phone and walked into the kitchen where he saw Dean walking in from the back deck.

"Dean, is something going on with you?" Seth asked.

"No." he answered.

"Then why are you practically living on the deck smoking? And why have you been moody as hell?" Seth asked.

"What the fuck? What is this an interrogation?" Dean yelled.

"Calm down…see what I mean, you're easily agitated and seem restless. Did you and Rori have a fight?" Seth asked.

Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "No."

"Have you spoken to her lately?" Seth tried to get Dean to open up.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Dean snapped.

"What is going on?" Roman walked in.

"I am trying to get Dean to tell me what the fuck has him acting so withdrawn and pissy and why he hasn't spoken to Rori recently." Seth said.

"How did you know I haven't talked to her?" Dean glared.

Seth decided to be diplomatic and not reveal that Rori had called him. "Because I spoke to her…she is my friend you know. And she asked about you. She is worried about you."

"Dean….why aren't you talking to her? You adore her and she is crazy about you. Why are you pushing her away?" Roman asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. And it is none of your business." Dean glared at them.

"Calm down. Come on now…we're like family. We wanna help you with…whatever it is." Roman said.

"There is nothing to discuss. Just let it go." Dean said. "I'm going to shower."

Dean walked past them and up the stairs. Seth stared after him confused at Dean's behavior.

"What the hell was that? What is wrong with him?" Seth asked.

"My guess, Dean is running scared from the best thing to ever happen to him." Roman sighed.

November 13th 1300 Hours

Dean sat on the back deck smoking. Roman and Seth had gone out earlier to do the grocery shopping. Dean didn't want to go. He hadn't spoken to Rori in a week and though it was his choice, he still felt something he couldn't explain. He noticed the worried glances from Roman and Seth but ignored them. Both men had tried to get Dean to open up about what he was going through but he refused.

He heard the doorbell ring and groaned. He wasn't expecting company and was in no mood for any. He got up and walked off the back deck and around the house to the front. He saw Rori's red charger in the driveway and sighed. He figured he might as well talk to her; she had come to see him. He looked up and saw her standing at the front door. For a moment he smiled thinking she looked cute in her jeans and hoodie.

"Rori." He got her attention.

She turned and looked at him. "Jon, there you are. How are you?" she walked over to hug him. He kept his arms at his sides through sheer will.

"Fine, what can I do for you?" he said.

She pulled back and looked up at him. "Jon, what is going on? I haven't heard from you in a week. You don't return my calls or texts. What's wrong?"

"Rori….I don't think we should see each other anymore." He said.

She shook her head, not sure she had heard right. "What? But why? Did I do something to upset you? Is it your job?"

"No, you didn't do anything." He said.

"Then what is it?" she asked.

"I…when you…I think I just got caught up in having you here. Playing your white knight or some shit." He said.

"I don't believe that." She said, her eyes filling up with tears. "Why are you doing this?"

Dean's chest tightened seeing her cry and he felt his own heart hurt knowing he had caused it. He fought the urge to comfort her.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He said honestly.

"Jon, I don't understand. We shared something so special." She said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I think you should leave." Dean said.

"If that's how you want it." She wiped her eyes.

He stood frozen as he watched her walk back over to her car and wiped her eyes again. His chest felt so tight he felt like he couldn't breathe. She turned and looked back at him.

"Did you know I love you? While I was here I fell in love with you, but never said anything because I was afraid I was rushing things. Guess I was right." She wiped her eyes again. "Goodbye, Jon."

Rori opened the car door and climbed into the driver's seat. Dean watched as she started the car and pulled out of the driveway. He started shaking as she drove out of sight, her words ringing in his ears.

1500 Hours

Roman and Seth walked into the kitchen carrying several bags of groceries each. Dean was sitting on the back deck and they could see he had a bottle of whiskey with him.

"What are we gonna do about him?" Seth asked.

"I don't know. I have never seen him this way." Roman said. "And you know how he is about accepting help or discussing his feelings."

Seth walked over and opened the sliding glass door, walking outside on the deck. He looked at Dean and was surprised to see tear tracks on his face. He didn't point them out, not wanting to upset Dean further.

"What's going on?" Seth sat down across from him.

Dean looked up at him and Seth could tell Dean was drunk. "I hurt her."

Seth didn't have to ask to know he meant Rori. "So call her and make it right. Talk to her."

"I can't." Dean mumbled.

"Sure you can. She is crazy about you. I am sure she wants to hear from you." Seth said.

"I broke up with her. It's for the best." Dean said.

"You what? But why?" Seth was shocked.

"Forget it. She is gone and she will move on." Dean said.

"But don't you care about her?" Seth asked.

"Of course I do. I fucking lo…..I don't want to talk about it." Dean yelled.

Dean's near slip of the tongue did not get past Seth. Seth wondered why Dean was being so stubborn and what was really going on in Dean's head.

"It's getting pretty cold out here. Why don't you come in?" Seth offered.

"Maybe in a bit. I just want to be alone right now." Dean said.

Seth nodded and stood up. He walked back into the house. He sighed as he closed the sliding glass door, everything was a mess.

_**Author's Note- **__All feedback on the new direction of the story is welcome. Haven't had many reviews lately. Let me know what you think. _


	24. Conversations

November 17th 0945 Hours

Seth walked into the Express Pharmacy. He had decided to drop by the pharmacy and see Rori while he was out running errands. He had not heard from her since the previous week and wanted to check on her. He was also concerned that Dean was still acting withdrawn and unhappy at home.

Seth walked towards the front of the pharmacy towards the counter. He saw Rori waiting on customers. He walked up to the counter and waited for her to notice him. After a few moments, Rori looked up and saw Seth. She smiled and signaled to the others that she was going to speak to someone. She walked around the counter and hugged Seth.

"Seth, how are you?" she hugged him tight.

"I am just fine. Just thought I would stop by and say a quick hello." He said. He pulled back and looked at Rori, noticing she looked tired.

"Well I am glad to see you." She smiled.

"How have you been? I haven't heard from you since last week." Seth asked.

"I am okay, I guess. It is nice being back to work." She tried to smile but Seth could see it was forced. "How is Roman?"

"He is good. Rumor has it he is in the running to fill AJ's old position." Seth smiled.

"A promotion? Oh that is would be wonderful." She said. "And what about you?"

"I am looking at a few possibilities within the DXS. I want something that will keep me busy and be interesting to me." Seth said.

"That is great. I am glad everything is working out for you." She said. "How is Jo….I mean…how is Dean?"

Seth saw the sadness on her face.

"Dean is okay. He has been staying to himself." Seth said.

"I….I am glad to hear that." She said and Seth could see the tears form in her eyes.

"Rori, are you okay?" Seth asked.

She nodded but he could see the tears she was trying to wipe away.

"Is there somewhere we can talk privately?" Seth wrapped an arm around her.

She nodded against his shoulder. She wiped her eyes again and motioned for Seth to follow to her to the staff lounge. She sat down in a chair at a small table and Seth sat down beside her.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked her.

"Yeah, I am sorry for crying. I am just hurting." Rori said. "I stopped by to see Jon….I mean Dean on Saturday. I was worried because I had not heard from him in a week."

"Dean told me that he broke up with you. Rori, I am so sorry. I know it hurts." Seth took her hand.

"Yeah, he did. He told me….he told me that he just got caught up in having me at the house and being my protector and savior." Rori said, wiping her eyes as more tears fell. "I can't believe he said that. I thought he really cared about me. He was…he was so attentive and…..made me feel so special."

"I was surprised by the news myself." Seth said. "I'm sorry you are hurting."

"And I feel so foolish. I fell in love with him….and he doesn't feel anything for me." She said. "Leave it to me….all this time I hated chick flicks and now I am living one."

"Oh sweetie." Seth wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "You are not foolish. We can't help who we fall in love with, and just because it doesn't work out doesn't make you a fool."

"I miss him." Rori said.

"I know you do." He rubbed her shoulders.

"I am sorry for crying. I cried most of the weekend after I saw Dean on Saturday. I guess that is what I get for falling in love so fast." She said.

"None of this is your fault." Seth said.

"I should get back to work." She wiped her eyes again.

"You going to be okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I guess I have to be." She nodded. "I do appreciate you coming to see me. Tell Roman I said hello and that I miss him."

"I will. I will stop in and see you again soon." Seth kissed her forehead. "If you wanna talk or anything, you have my number."

She nodded. "Thank you Seth."

"Anything for my sister." He winked.

2100 Hours

Seth and Roman walked into the game room where Dean was playing Call of Duty. Seth had spoken to Roman about his visit with Rori earlier that day. Roman was unhappy to hear that Rori was so hurt by Dean's actions. Roman and Seth both agreed that they should talk to Dean. He had been withdrawing from them for over a week.

"Dean, we need to talk." Roman said.

"About what?" Dean asked, never looking away from the game.

"About whatever it is you are going through. You have not acted like yourself for over a week now." Roman said.

"I don't want to talk about it." Dean said.

Seth stood up and walked over and turned the TV off. "Too bad. This has gone on long enough!"

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Dean yelled.

"I want you to tell us the truth. Why have you been acting so moody? And why did you break up with Rori?" Seth asked.

"Did you ever think that I just didn't want to see her anymore?" Dean snapped.

"I don't believe that. When she was here you were crazy about her. You were sweet and doting. She gets her life back and you abandon her. Why?" Roman asked.

"Why does it matter? I broke things off with her and that is all there is to it!" Dean snapped.

"It matters because it is obvious you are unhappy. Is it because you miss her?" Seth asked.

"Do you miss her?" Dean shot back.

"Of course we do. She became a big part of our life. But we're happy she has her life back and we know we can see her any time we want. We love her, she is like our sister. She even calls us her adoptive brothers. But we aren't in love with her like you are." Roman said.

"She misses you. She is hurting you know. I went to see her today." Seth said.

"Fuck!" Dean yelled. "I don't want to talk about this!"

"Well you're going to. Now tell us what is going on." Seth yelled.

Dean stood up. "Fuck this! I hurt her, I am the bad guy. She will move on!"

Dean tried to walk out of the room but Seth grabbed his arm. "No, why did you hurt her? What made you break up with her?"

"Lopez….I am warning you." Dean glared.

"Fine, punch me. Maybe it will make you feel better. God knows something needs to because you are miserable and so is Rori. Something has to give!" Seth yelled.

"Fuck!" Dean yelled and jerked his arm back. "You wanna know so fucking bad. I love her!"

"You got a weird way of showing it!" Seth glared.

"Do you have any clue how I felt when she left? I fucking couldn't sleep because I missed her and my fucking bed smelled like her!" Dean yelled.

"But you knew that she was gonna go home. We all wanted her to get her life back." Roman was confused.

"Of course I want her happy. I just….fuck…..I can't explain it." Dean muttered.

"If you love her, why are you pushing her away?" Seth asked.

"She…I…..I….fuck I hate feeling like this. How did this happen she was only here a few weeks?" Dean yelled. "And if it hurts this bad now….fuck imagine how bad it would hurt if I stayed with her longer and then she left me."

"You're running from your feelings for her and making both of you miserable. You are afraid of getting hurt later so you broke it off. You can't run from emotions and feelings your whole life." Roman said.

"How could I feel so much for her already? I think my feelings just ran away with me. You can't fall in love with someone in a few weeks." Dean muttered.

"Oh yes you can. How about all those couples that when they meet they know within a few days they love each other and its right? Don't use time as an excuse. A lot of couples know right away when they have found someone special. There is no time frame for the heart." Seth said.

"That is more of that chick flick crap from all those fucking movies you watch." Dean muttered.

"He is right." Roman said. "Dean, we have known each other a long time. We're like brothers. And right now, you are afraid because you love her and need her. Dean…that is part of falling in love. Yes, love is scary because there are no guarantees. But if you don't take a chance you'll go through life alone."

Dean stayed silent.

"What do you hope to accomplish by pushing her away?" Seth asked.

"Are we done here? I am tired of the Dr. Phil routine." Dean walked out of the room.

"Well that was pointless." Seth sighed.

"Dean has always been an emotional mess. He finds a great girl and falls in love and now is running scared." Roman said. "Some guys are just that way. They start to fall in love and they run the other way."

"Fuck…and now Rori is hurting. She loves him Roman." Seth said.

"We clean up one mess and Dean makes another." Roman sighed.

November 19th 0900 Hours

Dean was in the gym getting in a workout. He had been awake for a few hours and had gone into the gym to work off some excess energy. Roman walked in to find Dean punching hard on the punching bag. Roman stayed silent and went to the treadmill to start off his workout.

Dean punched on the bag for another ten minutes or so before stopping and pulling his boxing gloves off. He grabbed his bottle of water and walked over to sit on a weight bench.

"Have a good work out?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, need a shower." Dean said.

Dean walked out of the gym and upstairs. He started to walk through the game room when he noticed a picture hanging on the wall near the window. He took a closer look and realized it was a picture of Rori, apparently drawn by Roman. In the picture, Roman had drawn Rori sitting Indian style in jeans and a hoodie, smiling with her hair flowing around her face. Someone had framed the picture and hung it on the wall.

Dean frowned and reached up to take the picture off the wall.

"Don't even think about it." Seth said behind him. "Roman drew that and it was so nice we decided to frame it and hang it up."

"What is this? Some moronic plan to make me look at her, realize I miss her and go make up with her?" Dean snapped.

"No, we both know you are too stubborn to get over your fear and be with the best thing that ever happened to you." Seth glared.

"I don't want it hanging here." Dean said.

"Well too bad. Roman and me live here too and we want it there. Rori is like a sister to us. We love her; only we are not afraid to admit we love her." Seth said.

"Seth…take it easy." Roman walked in, having heard the commotion while he was in the gym. "It's not easy when friends break up. All we can do is be there for both of them, not place blame or make the situation worse."

Seth nodded. Dean continued to glare.

"The picture stays. I put it in here because Rori was always in here watching those horror movies." Roman said. "And Dean, AJ has a hearing next week…Rori will be there so you might want to think about….what if anything you want to say to her."

_**Author's Note- **__Loving the reviews. Keep them coming. _


	25. Court Date

November 23rd 0900 Hours

AJ was scheduled to have a hearing regarding her mental state. Despite AJ agreeing to take the plea deal offered to her, her attorney was attempting to argue that she was not mentally competent enough to agree to the deal. Hunter and Vince had both called Rori to assure her that the federal authorities were fighting this move from her attorneys.

Roman, Seth and Dean walked into the courtroom. Hunter and Vince were already seated in the back of the courtroom. Dean took a deep breath and looked around the courtroom, knowing Rori would be there. He spotted her sitting on the other side of the room. She was wearing a black dress suit. He sat down beside Roman and Seth and tried to not look at Rori.

"This is just a formality. At most the judge will order AJ have a psychiatric evaluation." Vince whispered to Roman.

"What is the point if part of her deal was to receive psychiatric care?" Roman asked.

"Apparently her attorney is wanting to discard the deal and plead insanity." Vince said. "Really, all this is doing is dragging the process out for no reason."

"How is Rori holding up? We tried calling her last night, but she didn't answer." Seth asked.

"She is fine. She said she would do anything asked of her and that she would continue to trust the federal authorities." Hunter said.

AJ was brought in shackled but in a wheelchair because of her wound that was still healing. She kept her head down and did not look at anyone in the courtroom. The bailiff ordered everyone to rise as the judge entered the courtroom.

"You may be seated. This is a hearing regarding the United States of America vs. April Mendez. Defense has filed a motion to disregard the plea agreement accepted by the defendant based on mental capacity." The judge said.

"Your honor, April Mendez was offered this plea agreement and it was explained to her in great detail with her attorney present when she accepted." The prosecutor stated.

"Further contact with my client has led me to believe she is not capable of understanding what she is agreeing to. Obviously the prosecution always had concerns about my clients mental state as part of the plea agreement was to include counseling and psychiatric help." Defense council stated.

"Your honor, this is a move by the defense to set up an insanity defense." Prosecution stated. "We believe they will refuse the plea agreement and go to trial presenting an insanity defense."

"Ms. Mendez, you are aware of the charges being brought against you?" the judge asked.

"Yes your honor." AJ spoke quietly.

"And your attorney has gone over the plea agreement with you?" the judge asked.

"Yes sir." She spoke again.

"And you wish to accept the plea agreement despite what your council may be advising you?" the judge asked.

"Yes your honor. It would allow me the opportunity for parole that I may not get if my case goes to trial." She said.

The judge leaned back in his chair a moment. "Ms. Mendez has agreed to the plea agreement and is willing to take it. However, the court must be sure that Ms. Mendez is capable of making such decisions to avoid potential appeals in the future. Therefore, I am ordering that Ms. Mendez be examined by three court appointed psychologists. Upon receiving the results of those evaluations, the court will rule on her competency to accept the plea agreement. Court is adjourned." The judge banged his gavel and everyone rose as the judge left the courtroom.

"Is she gonna get away with this after all?" Seth sighed.

"Not likely, like the judge said, he wants to avoid possible appeals in the future. AJ needs help but she is well aware of her actions. If she had any problems they would've been found in the mandatory DXS evaluations." Vince said as they turned to leave.

"I thought this was all a done deal to keep the media out of it and keep things quiet?" Seth was confused.

"Even the best laid plans have problems when you get a lawyer involved, you know that." Hunter sighed. "As long as things stay confidential, we should be okay."

The five men made their way through the hallways of the courthouse and walked outside. Dean looked up and saw Rori sitting on a bench by the steps. Roman caught him looking at her.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Roman asked.

"I am gonna have a smoke." Dean said and walked in the opposite direction of where she was sitting.

Seth and Roman walked over to where Rori was sitting. She smiled as she saw them approaching and stood up.

"Hey guys, I was hoping I would get a chance to see you." She hugged each of them.

"How have you been?" Roman asked her.

"I'm okay. Getting ready to go to West Virginia for Thanksgiving." She said. "I am leaving Wednesday after my shift."

"I am sure your mom will be happy to see you for the holiday." Roman said.

Rori reached into her purse and took out a check, handing it to Roman. "This is for the clothes and shoes I ordered while staying with you guys. I told you I would pay you back when everything was over."

Roman handed the check back to her. "It's been taken care of. DXS reimbursed me because you were in protective custody. Hunter took care of it. And even if they hadn't, I wouldn't take your money."

"I still appreciate it. You were very generous." She smiled. "Where is Dean? I saw him in the courtroom."

"He went to have a smoke." Seth said, trying to not hurt her.

"Oh….I see." She said, her face falling. Roman and Seth could see she knew what they were trying not to say, that Dean just refused to speak to her and was avoiding her.

"Roman, tell Rori your good news." Seth tried to redirect the conversation.

"What is the good news?" she looked up.

"I've been promoted. I will be taking over AJ's old position. I'll be working directly under Hunter." Roman said.

"Roman, that is wonderful." She hugged him. "I am so happy for you. You are going to do a great job."

"Thank you. I am happy about the position. And we decided to stay at the house. It's paid for and been our home for so long, we couldn't see a reason to leave right now." Roman said.

"What about you Seth? You got a new position yet?" Rori asked.

"I am going to be the DXS liaison to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. That way I can stay in the area." Seth told her.

"Going to work at the Pentagon….oh that is so exciting." She smiled and hugged him.

"Listen, we got to get going. When you get back from West Virginia, give us a call. We'll have dinner together." Roman said.

"I will, that sounds nice." She smiled.

"You have a safe trip and enjoy your holiday." Seth kissed her forehead.

"Thanks, you guys have a good holiday too." She hugged Roman again.

Dean stood on the sidewalk across the street and watched Rori talking with Seth and Roman as he smoked. He wanted to go talk to her, but his mind wouldn't let his body do what his heart wanted.

2200 Hours

Dean stood looking at the picture of Rori on the wall that Roman had drawn. He was lost in memories of Rori when she was staying with them. Seth walked into the room and noticed Dean looking at the picture. Both Roman and Seth had observed Dean looking at the picture several times since they had hung it up.

"You okay?" Seth asked.

"Yeah, just been a long day." Dean said.

"What did you go meet with Hunter about this afternoon? You were gone a long time." Seth said.

"I spent a long time just driving around. Trying to get my head clear." Dean said and sat down on the couch.

Roman walked in. "I am getting ready to turn in for the night."

"Sit down….I have something to tell you." Dean said.

Roman raised his eyebrow but sat down. Seth looked at Dean.

"I went to meet with Hunter about what I want to do now that the DXS is moving us all to new positions." Dean said.

"That's great. We knew you were trying to decide what you wanted to do next. What did you decide?" Seth smiled.

"I asked Hunter for a transfer. He said there was an open assassin position in the Los Angeles DXS division. I told him I would take it." Dean said.

"A transfer? You're leaving? Moving away from us? But why? We're like family." Seth asked.

"I know, it wasn't an easy decision. We are like family, like brothers. Me moving won't change that; you guys will always be my brothers. But I need a fresh start." Dean said.

"Are you sure this is what you want? Hunter said there were several options open to us for reassignment." Roman said.

"I know, Hunter tried his best to talk me out of this. He went over several options with me today. But…..I need this. I want a fresh start." Dean said.

"Maybe you should just take some time off. Take a vacation, clear your head. You don't have to leave." Seth said.

"No, I need a fresh start. I know you guys wanted to stay in the DC area, but the more I thought about it…..I just think a fresh start, new city, new surroundings is the way to go." Dean said.

Roman rubbed his eyes. "Dean…..if this is what you want we'll support you. But if you change your mind….you will always be welcome here as long as we are here."

"I appreciate that. This is something I need to do." Dean said.

"When do you leave?" Seth asked.

"Early December." Dean said.

"Wow, that is soon." Seth said.

"I know. But I will be back here often to visit. And you guys will always be welcome in LA to visit me." Dean gave a small smile.

"We're really gonna miss you. It won't be the same. We have been a trio for years." Seth said.

"It will be weird, working with new people." Dean agreed. "I am gonna go have a smoke."

Dean got up and walked out of the game room. They heard the sliding glass door as he walked out onto the back deck.

"I don't know what to think." Roman said.

"Me either." Seth sighed.

"If this is what he wants, there is nothing we can do." Roman said. "I hope he knows what he is leaving behind."

_**Author's Note- **__So what do you all think? Need some feedback. Thanks to Rossi's Lil Devil for constantly reviewing. I greatly appreciate it. _


	26. Transitioning

November 28th, 2100 Hours

Roman walked into the game room and found Dean standing in front of the picture of Rori, looking far away in his mind.

"Everything okay?" Roman asked quietly.

"Yeah, I was just deep in thought." Dean turned to face him.

"Seth talked to Rori today. She spent a few days in West Virginia for Thanksgiving." Roman said.

"Does she know I am moving to California?" Dean asked.

"I haven't told her." Roman said. "Why don't you go see her and talk to her?"

"I can't get back together with her." Dean said.

Roman sat down and sighed. "Talking to her might give you both a little closure. Then you can make your fresh start having closure."

Dean ran a hand through her hair. "She's hurting and it kills me to know that I am the one that hurt her. I can't stand seeing her in pain."

"Dean….don't you see if you love her this much that you two need to talk?" Roman said.

"I just can't." Dean sighed.

"Why don't you take a chance with her? You're running scared." Roman said.

"What's done is done. I can't take it back." Dean said.

"Talk to her, tell her what you are feeling. She will understand. She loves you." Roman said.

"She deserves better than an emotional train wreck like me." Dean said. "I am going for a smoke."

Roman sighed as he watched Dean hurry out of the room.

November 30th, 2200 Hours

Dean sat on the deck smoking despite the cold night air. He stared at his cell phone, knowing he had a voicemail on there from Rori. She had tried calling earlier but Dean refused to answer the phone. He had overheard Seth talking to her a bit later.

He was torn between just erasing the voicemail and listening to it so he could hear her voice. He knew hearing her voice would rip at his heart. He missed her but was so afraid of hurting her or being hurt himself. He was hoping the move to LA and new surroundings would help him move on.

He finally picked up the phone and listened to the message.

_Tuesday 8:03 PM- "Hi…Dean. I am having Seth and Roman over next week to trim my Christmas tree. You know, trim the tree, have some eggnog, Seth is making noise about Christmas movies. Seth is excited about it, and I think Roman is just being a good sport. But it is always nice to do holiday things with friends. Anyway, I wanted to invite you as well. I would never want you to feel like I was excluding you. You are always welcome in my home. I hope you decide to join us. Okay….bye." _

Dean shut off his phone. He ran a hand through his hair. He was touched that after everything that had happened between them, she was still willing to invite him to share in the holidays with her. He knew that he would be in LA next week. Apparently neither Seth nor Roman had told Rori he was leaving.

Dean sighed and took a drag off his cigarette wondering if he should call Rori and tell her he was moving or not. He decided not to. Roman and Seth could tell her. He was glad that she had them in her life. He knew they loved her like a sister and they would look after her.

December 1st, 0800 Hours

Seth walked into the game room and found Dean once again standing in front of Rori's picture. Seth sighed and sat down on the couch. Both Seth and Roman were confused about Dean, but weren't sure how to help him. They felt he was leaving to forget Rori and Seth being the closet romantic believed that distance didn't change a heart.

"Dean, you okay man?" Seth asked.

"Oh…fine. Just getting ready to get some more packing done." Dean said.

"You still miss her?" Seth asked, knowing the answer but hoping Dean would talk.

"We're not together anymore." Dean said.

"That isn't what I asked." Seth said.

"Have you ever been in love?" Dean asked.

"I think so. Love is a strange thing. I mean yeah, I have had a few girlfriends in the past that I thought I was in love with….but then I see other couples and feel like 'it wasn't anything like that'. I guess when it is right you just know." Seth shrugged.

"I wish things had been different." Dean said.

"Then call her. You know that when she finds out you have moved it is going to devastate you." Seth said.

"That is not what I meant. I meant I wish that Roman had assigned you to look after her while she was here instead. Or just done it himself." Dean said.

Seth frowned. "You think because you were assigned to look out for her that is what made you fall in love with her?"

Dean shrugged without answering.

"That is bullshit and you know it. You saw something in her before we ever brought her here." Seth said. "And even without being assigned to watch her, Roman and I both came to care about her."

"How is she doing? I know you talk to her all the time. You're her 'brother' after all."

"She misses you but tries to hide it. Deep down I think she is hoping you come around. I haven't been able to find the words to tell her you are leaving. And frankly I think you're a chicken shit for not telling her yourself." Seth said.

"Excuse me?" Dean glared at him.

"You heard me! You shared something very special with her no matter how short it may have been and then you don't even have the balls to tell her you are leaving the state." Seth said.

"Seth take it easy." Roman walked in.

"Just telling him how I feel. You know how hurt she is going to be." Seth said. "How can you be so calm about this? You care about her too."

"What good will it do to send Dean off with us not getting along." Roman said. "The best we can do is be there for both of them."

"Because she is hurting!" Seth yelled. "Yes, Dean is our brother and we care about him but damn it I care about her too."

"Seth calm down." Roman tried.

"No! I am tired of her hurting and now he is gonna run out and leave a bigger mess for us to fix with her. That is the cowardly thing to do and you know it." Seth yelled.

"Hey, you have no idea what I am feeling!" Dean yelled.

"Of course I don't. You bottle up everything! But I do know how she is feeling and I can tell you, she is hurting. She misses you and has no closure because she has no idea what she did to drive you away!" Seth yelled.

"I am out of here. Think what you want!" Dean pushed past them and headed for the back deck to smoke.

Roman sighed. "Seth…."

"Don't! You know Rori is like my sister and I can only see her hurting so much before I lose my temper." Seth said.

"But you love Dean too." Roman said.

"I do…..but….fuck…..Rori brings out these protective instincts in a way I can't explain." Seth sighed.

"Because she is a female and she is the one you see hurting more. Dean hides his emotions where Rori doesn't." Roman said.

"I wish I knew how to help her." Seth said.

"Just be her friend is all we can do." Roman said. "And be sure we don't make Dean mad before he leaves. We been through too much together for him to leave mad at us."


	27. Farewell Party

December 4th, 2200 Hours

The guys had taken Dean out to one of the local bars for a farewell outing. Several other employees from the Quantico DXS division had joined them in the festivities for the night. Dean sat at the bar with the guys and other of his friends, laughing and having a good time. Roman thought it was the first time that Dean had looked happy in a long time.

"Ambrose, we are gonna miss you. I never thought you would leave the DC area." Cena slapped him on the shoulder.

"I think it is a good move." Dean smiled.

"Dean, let me buy you another drink." Flair walked up to them.

"Ric, have you ever thought of retiring?" Seth asked. "You have been in this business a long time. Why don't you retire and move somewhere relaxing?"

"No way. I am like McMahon, it's in my blood. I'll be in the DXS until I die." Flair smiled. "But I got some words of wisdom for you younger guys."

"Flair loves looking out for the younger guys." Hunter chuckled.

"Boys, enjoy your work and be proud of what you do. But don't let it consume you. Don't let life pass you by. You don't want to wake up one day and realize you have missed great opportunities." Ric said.

"Is that why you have been married four times and had more girlfriends than Hugh Hefner?" Cody Rhodes laughed. Cody worked as a negotiator with the DXS Foreign Relations unit.

"Hef has nothing on Flair." Orton laughed. "The stories I have heard about him from his younger days when he was working as a DXS ambassador in Europe. He had three girlfriends in every city."

"Too bad those days are over." Jerry Lawler, DXS liaison with the secret service chuckled.

"You're one to talk, Captain Cialis." Flair said.

"Well you guys are welcome to visit me anytime in LA. I am going to miss everyone at the Quantico division." Dean laughed at their antics.

Roman looked up at the bar entrance and saw a group of people walk in. He noticed Rori was among them, laughing with them. He also noticed Nick Nemeth among the group.

"There is Rori." Roman nudged Seth.

Dean heard him and looked over. He saw Rori taking a seat at one of the large tables with about 5 other people, AJ's ex among them.

"Did you know she was coming?" Roman asked.

"No, she didn't mention anything when I talked to her last night." he said. "We still haven't told her Dean is leaving."

They noticed Dean was watching her. Rori still had not noticed they were there. Dean thought she looked beautiful in jeans and a pale blue top.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Seth nudged Dean.

"And say what? 'Hi, I haven't spoken to you in about a month. Oh by the way, Monday I am leaving to move to LA.'" Dean said.

"You both need some closure. You'll feel better." Roman urged.

"I don't want to upset her." Dean sighed. "She looks happy tonight and I won't take that away from her."

"Dean, after everything you and Rori shared you owe to the both of you to sit down and talk." Roman urged.

"I don't want to make this harder than it already is." Dean said.

"Ambrose, I spent some time in LA before transferring out here." Chris Jericho, one of the DXS field agents said as he stepped up to the bar. "I can tell you all the best clubs, bars, restaurants, you name it."

"Don't listen to him. He likes to go see live bands all the time." Cody rolled his eyes.

"You're still pouting because everyone picks on that ridiculous porno mustache you insist on having." Jericho laughed.

"The ladies love it." Cody said.

"Yeah, I see the line forming around the block to get to you." Orton said sarcastically.

Seth noticed Dean watching Rori again, where she and her friends had just got a round of drinks.

"I had one of those….in the 70's." Teddy Long laughed.

"Maybe Cody just idolizes Ron Jeremy." Orton chuckled.

"Well you watch him a lot more than I do." Cody shot back.

Seth leaned over to Dean. "Why don't you go ask her to dance?"

"Will you just let it go?" Dean snapped, even though he had been watching her since she walked in.

"Well I am going to ask her to dance. You might not want to dance with a pretty girl, but I do." Seth said.

Seth stood up and made his way across the bar to the table where Rori was sitting with her friends. When she saw him, she smiled and jumped up to hug him.

"Seth, how are you? What are you doing here?" she hugged him.

"I am fine, a bunch of us from the DXS are here tonight." Seth said, not wanting to reveal the real reason.

Rori looked past him. "Oh yeah….there is Roman, Dean, Hunter, Vince, the Orton guy with all the tattoos."

"Who are your friends?" Seth asked.

"Oh where are my manners?" she chuckled, having caught herself looking at Dean. "These are some of my friends from work. "This is Nick, Matt, Josh, Lillian and Taylor. Everyone, this is my awesome adoptive brother Seth."

They all smiled and greeted each other.

"So Rori, I was hoping I could have a dance with the prettiest girl in the room." Seth smiled.

"Sure, Lillian would love to dance with you." Rori chuckled.

Seth smiled at her antics and took Rori's hand. "Come on before I say 'no one puts baby in a corner'."

"I am not letting you lift me over your head." Rori laughed, following him to the dance floor.

Seth loosely wrapped his arms around Rori as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"So what is so many from the DXS doing here tonight?" she asked.

"Just a get together." Seth said, not wanting to hurt her.

"You and Roman are still coming on Wednesday to trim the tree right? I know it's an artificial tree but I don't like killing real trees just to decorate." She said.

"Wouldn't miss it. I got the Charlie Brown Christmas….it's like a law you have to watch that at Christmas." Seth smiled.

"Have you been able to talk Dean into coming? I mean….I know we aren't together but…I hate the thought of him not being part of the holidays with us." Rori said.

"Dean isn't coming Rori." Seth sighed.

Rori frowned. "Well, I'll send some Christmas cookies home to him with you guys anyway."

"Rori….there is something you should know…Roman and I just haven't quite known how to tell you." Seth said.

"Seth…what's going on?" Rori asked.

"Dean asked for a transfer out of the Quantico division of the DXS. He accepted a position in the LA division." Seth said.

Rori stopped dancing. "What?"

"He leaves Monday morning. That is why everyone is here tonight; this is Dean's farewell celebration." Seth said.

"He's leaving?" Rori asked. Seth could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Sweetie…..I didn't know how to tell you. Dean says he wants a fresh start." Seth hugged her.

"But he loves you and Roman. He loves living here. Why would he leave? Is it because of me?" she asked, trying to blink back the tears.

"We're not sure. But Roman and I both think that he loves you and misses you. Maybe a change of scenery will make Dean happy. We're trying to be happy for him. We're gonna miss him too." Seth rubbed her back.

"I miss him so much." Rori whispered so quietly Seth nearly missed it.

"I know." Seth said. "You gonna be okay?"

"I gotta go." Rori pulled away from him.

"Rori, wait." Seth said.

"I gotta go. I will see you Wednesday." She said and hurried off to her table.

Seth watched as she grabbed her purse, said something to her friends and then practically ran out the door. Seth wondered if he had done the right thing. Maybe they should have told her sooner. But then again, Seth knew she would be hurt no matter when they told her. He made his way back to the bar.

"What happened to Rori? She ran out of here pretty fast." Roman asked.

"I told her about Dean leaving. I had to." Seth said.

"And she took it hard." Roman sighed.

"Despite everything….she still loves him." Seth sighed. "Where is Dean?"

"When he saw Rori was upset, he left for the restroom." Roman said.

December 5th 0100 Hours

Rori walked into her living room, finding it impossible to sleep, despite how tired she was. She couldn't stop thinking about Dean. Of course she had thought about him every day since he had broken up with her. Part of her always thought that someday, they would find their way back to each other, but with him moving to LA she knew that would never happen and she was devastated.

She turned on the lamp by the couch and started looking for a book to read, thinking maybe that would help her relax. She pulled out the copy of 'Christine' that Seth had bought her. She had started reading it before Thanksgiving but hadn't got back to it since returning from West Virginia. She sat down on the couch and opened the book to where she left off. She had been using Hunter's business card as a bookmark.

She looked at the card for a few minutes then set it on the coffee table. She began reading the book, but found she really couldn't concentrate. After about 20 minutes, she gave up. She decided to try some TV instead.


End file.
